


Vital to Me

by ohmyheart



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Lee Minho | Lee Know & Yang Jeongin | I.N are Siblings, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21842932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyheart/pseuds/ohmyheart
Summary: Minho points his sword under the thief’s throat, panting heavily. “You caught me in a very bad mood, so give me one good reason why I shouldn’t run you through right now.”“I know where your brother is!”Minho’s sword clatters to the ground. “Excuse me?”Minho starts to lose hope in finding his missing brother, at least until he catches an assassin breaking into his little brother's room in the middle of the night
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han & Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung | Han & Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Kim Seungmin/Lee Felix, Lee Felix & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Minho | Lee Know & Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 62
Kudos: 481





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello i started thinking "what if jeongin and minho were princes" and it severely escalated as you can probably tell
> 
> dont expect a consistent upload schedule this is more like a "upload when i can" kinda thing but i hope it entertains you at least

“What do you mean there’s been no word? He’s a prince with red hair. How could nobody have seen him?”

“Every spy in every village has said the same thing. Nobody has said anything about Prince Jeongin. Most people don’t even know that he’s missing.”

Minho let out a groan as he leaned back in his chair. He looked over at all of the meeting’s attendants. As anxious as he was to find his brother, he wasn’t in the mood to have the same conversation he’s had for the past two days. He lifts a hand, and the council members get up and leave, leaving Minho alone with his four friends.

Eric shuts the door and walks back to the table, looking towards the twins standing at the front of the room. “So you guys don’t have any magic or anything that can at least give us a clue?”

Felix and Chaewon shake their heads. “As long as we’re outside of our home, no,” Felix explains.

“We can barely do anything right now. Tracking and locating is hard enough to do even when we’re at full power,” Chaewon adds.

“Can’t I just—“ Minho begins, before being interrupted by Hyunjin.

“No, you may not go look for him on your own,” Hyunjin says. “The answer is no now, just like the millions of other times you asked us and your parents.”

“Jeongin could be in trouble or hurt or lost and all we’re doing is wasting time when I could be searching for him.”

“Okay, fine, let’s say you go look for him. Where do you start?” Chaewon asks, walking up to Minho. “Trick question. You don’t know. You pick somewhere random, you get lost, you find some trouble, and now there are two missing princes. Let’s say we find Jeongin. Which one of us do you pick to explain to him that _his_ brother is the one missing now?”

Minho is silent as he and Chaewon stare back at each other, neither one of them dare breaking eye contact. He could see her pointed ears twitching out of the corner of his eyes. He would never say it out loud, but there was something about her and her brother that intimidated him. It wasn’t that they were scary, especially since the two were quite the opposite, but something about their fae blood gave them a presence that couldn’t be ignored, especially when they got serious. Every elegant feature of their faces was sculpted to perfection, making any human want to both stare and look away.

The silence finally broke when Eric spoke up. He placed a hand on Minho’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “We’re going to find him, but we can’t have you running off on your own.”

“Okay, okay,” Minho says. “Anything else I need to worry about?”

“Harvests are still poor,” Hyunjin says. “If this goes on, the king and queen said we might need to begin rationing.”

“Rationing? It’s that bad?” Minho asks. “How do you know this and I don’t?”

“I’m pretty I'm sure not supposed to know about it,” Hyunjin explains. “Jeongin and I accidentally overheard your parents talking about it a few days ago.”

“But,” Felix interjects. “This isn’t your problem right now. You told your parents you’d focus on Jeongin. Don’t stress about other things right now.”

“Go get some rest,” Chaewon says. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

Minho nods. “Alright. Have a good night everyone.”

At the door, he turns back to look at his friends one last time before leaving, taking note of the concerned looks the four of them shared between each other.

If there was anyone who had the right to worry over him, or even speak to him as Chaewon had, it was those four. After all, Minho and Jeongin had basically grown up with them.

Hyunjin was the first one he met, due to his parents high ranking within the Kingdom of Levanter. He, Jeongin, and Hyunjin spent so long being put in a room together while their parents worked, it was only natural for Hyunjin to become their first closest friend and confidant.

Eric was the next person to enter his life. His parents were hired as the king and queen’s personal pages, meaning that they had to move into the castle with their young son. They all went a month without speaking to each other, at least until Jeongin took it upon himself to corner Eric by the stables. Minho still doesn’t know what happened that day. All he knows is that Jeongin and Eric ended up in the infirmary, it took a week to find the missing horse, and he gained another friend.

As for Felix and Chaewon, they were his biggest mystery, even after ten years. His first meeting with them when he was twelve years old still felt like a dream.

In the middle of the night, he awoke to banging on his door. He opened it to find Eric and a pink-haired stranger looking at him worriedly, with a pink-haired girl with her arms slung around their shoulders, barely conscious.

After putting Chaewon to rest in his bed and calling Jeongin next door, he got his explanation. During one of Eric’s night walks, which he had just learned exists, he stumbled across Felix carrying Chaewon out of the forest by the castle. All it took was Felix whispering a desperate plea for help to get Eric to bring them to his room.

He wasn’t one to pry into someone’s life, which is where Jeongin came in handy. Felix told them about his and his sister’s home in the Ninth Realm, and how the two had to escape one day, for reasons still unknown to everyone else to this day. All they had with them was the clothes on their backs and a matching set of rapiers. After days of travelling, they ended up in the forest and were attacked by wolves, leading to his twin sister getting hurt protecting him. After that, Eric found them.

The next morning, Minho woke up in Jeongin’s bed and headed over to his room to greet his new guests, only to have a flaming rapier inches from his face. Turns out Felix was still asleep and Chaewon thought they got kidnapped.

The rest of the story was simpler than one would think. The two siblings were allowed to stay in the castle to recuperate. What was supposed to be a two week stay ended up being permanent after discovering their skill with their magic swords. Minho insisted they remain as his personal guards, and the fire and ice swordsmen have been by his side since.

Minho entered his room and flopped down on his bed, taking a deep breath.

It may have been two days, but there were absolutely zero leads on Jeongin. No one knew if he was kidnapped or got lost or even just left on his own. All Minho knew was that one day he woke up, didn’t find Jeongin in his bed, the castle, the market, or the village, and nearly passed out from the stress of having to explain to his parents what happened.

“Mrow.”

Minho sat up to see his three cats hop onto his bed and crawl up onto his lap.

“You guys won’t go missing, right?” Minho whispered to them, gathering them in his arms. “You guys need to stay here in the castle. I want your uncle to see you all as soon as he can once he comes home.”

They reply by licking Minho’s hand, causing him to laugh. He gently pets them all with his other hand, giving them a little scratch. “Don’t tell Jeongin, but he actually loves you all very much. He just likes to tease me by teasing all of you. Do you remember when he stole Chaewon’s rapier?”

Minho felt the hand the cats were licking get more wet, but he ignored it as he continued talking. “He accidentally burned his hand, so he grabbed Felix’s rapier hoping that the ice would help, but he ended up getting frostbite. He was holding onto you guys as Eric bandaged his hand, so of course he loves you. Once he gets back, I’m sure he will hold onto you guys just as tightly.”

He looked down at his hand, coming to a realization. His cats stopped licking his hand a long time ago. The wetness on his hand was the tears streaming down his face.

“Please come back,” he whispered into the air. “I want to hold onto you too.”

He fell asleep in his day clothes, curled up with his three cats, and dried tears on his face.

* * *

Minho woke up to two cats standing on his face and one cat scratching at his door.

“What? What are you doing?” Minho said, lifting his cats off his face. “Dori, stop scratching the door.”

He got up from his bed to grab her, but stopped where he was once he heard the clattering next door.

 _“Jeongin?”_ he thought to himself.

He grabbed his sword by his nightstand and unsheathed it. He quietly left his room and shut the door behind him, carefully making his way over to Jeongin’s room. Slowly, he opened the door about an inch and peeked inside. His heart stopped when he saw the open window and the culprit rummaging through one of the drawers. For a brief moment, he had hope, but that hope was washed away the more he looked at the person in the room.

They were much shorter than Jeongin and had a lithe figure, but the giveaway was the shaggy, blonde hair. This was a complete stranger who thought they could get away with sneaking in and robbing his brother. Minho stepped into the room, sword raised and ready to strike the thief down. Just as he brought his sword down, the thief whirled around and blocked the attack with a dagger Minho didn’t even know he had on him.

“I can explain,” the thief said, giving Minho an awkward smile.

“Not interested,” Minho growls.

He strikes again, only for the thief to dodge out of the way and grab Minho’s wrist.

“I—”

“No.”

Minho kicks at the thief and strikes again and again, determined to take down the stranger. The thief continued to dodge and block, not even getting a full word out before Minho attacks again. He finally catches the thief off balance as he sweeps his leg underneath his, knocking him to the ground and causing his dagger to fall out of his hand.

Minho points his sword under the thief’s throat, panting heavily. “You caught me in a _very_ bad mood, so give me one good reason why I shouldn’t run you through right now.”

“I know where your brother is!”

Minho’s sword clatters to the ground. “Excuse me?”

“Okay, I don’t know where he is _exactly,_ but I know where to find someone who does know. I’m Han Jisung by the way.” The thief stands and extends a hand to Minho, who only stares back stunned.

“Wait, am I supposed to bow?” Jisung asks. “I don’t know where we stand etiquette wise since you just tried to kill me and—”

“Just stay still, and stay silent,” Minho finally breaths out. He walks over to Jeongin’s bed and reaches under it. He pulls out a small glass bottle filled with a shiny, purple mist. He opens it and dumps out the contents. Jisung and Minho watch as the mist flies out the door.

“Was that fae magic?” Jisung asks in awe.

“Don’t worry about it.”

A minute passes before Felix, Chaewon, and Eric burst into the room, all pointing their weapons.

“Why did you set off Jeongin’s alert?” Chaewon asks. “Who’s that?”

Jisung takes a step forward and does a dramatic bow. “My name is Jisung. Pleasure to meet you all.”

“So you bow to them and not me?” Minho asks.

“You hate it when people bow,” Felix points out.

“Shh!” Minho picks up both the sword and dagger before walking up to the group. “He said he knows how to find Jeongin.”

“You know where Jeongin is?” Eric asks, lowering his axe.

“I know how to find someone who does,” Jisung says. “Can the rest of you lower your sharp things or…?”

“No,” both Minho and Chaewon say.

Jisung shrugs. “Well in that case.” He holds his hand out towards Minho. The dagger in his hand shakes before flying into Jisung’s open hand. “Your little soldiers aren’t the only ones who can get enchanted weapons.”

“How…” Felix whispers.

“It’s a long story,” Jisung begins, grabbing the chair from Jeongin’s desk and taking a seat. “My line of work involves having a lot of connections. One of my most valuable ones is a friend named Jacob. The guy knows everyone. He connected me to a tavern owner named Changbin a while ago, and when I hung out with him two days ago, he told me that he spoke to Jeongin three days ago.”

“A day before he disappeared,” Eric says.

“What happened was that Jeongin was out in the village that day and befriended Changbin. Changbin was talking about his own life and Chan was brought up.”

“Bang Chan!?” Chaewon suddenly shrieked.

“Isn’t he a blacksmith?” Eric asks. He looked over at the twins, who have gone pale at the mention of Chan.

“He lives in the Ninth Realm. He’s a faerie too,” Felix explains. “What is he doing here?”

“Beats me, but that’s your answer to this,” Jisung says, pointing to his dagger. “I’m his favourite customer.”

“What does this have to do with Jeongin?” Minho says, growing irritated.

“Chan being a blacksmith led them to talk about enchanted weapons, which led to them talking about the Ninth Realm, which led to Changbin talking about Kim Seungmin.”

“Why are there so many people involved?” Eric whispers to himself.

“Who is Seungmin?” Felix asks.

“He’s a witch that Changbin knows. He’s apparently a big deal in the magic world since he can freely walk in and out of the Ninth Realm.”

“Bullshit,” Chaewon interrupts. “Once you’re in, you can’t leave and vice versa. Queen Vivi would never let this happen. She has only blessed other faes to leave for a few hours, and only when it was urgent. They always came back.”

“Well you can take it up with Seungmin, since meeting him is the key to finding Jeongin.” Jisung looks over at Minho’s anxious face before continuing. “Seungmin told Changbin who told Jeongin about how the Ninth Realm has something powerful that can bring life to nature. Jeongin was _really_ interested in it and kept asking questions. At one point, he asked where he could find Seungmin. I figured since the harvests here have been bad…” Jisung trailed off, letting the others connect the dots.

“Jeongin and Hyunjin heard about the rationing plan the day before,” Eric says. “You don’t think he would leave to find Seungmin and the Ninth Realm and not tell us, do you?”

“I never let him do anything,” Minho whispers, putting his head in his hand. “Anytime he wanted an ounce of responsibility, I said no. Of course he wouldn’t tell me, he didn’t _trust_ me.”

“Minho, he trusts you,” Felix says, clutching onto his shoulders. “He probably just wanted to prove himself to you.”

“He shouldn’t have to,” Minho whispers. He looked to Jisung once more, who seemed very interested in the ground. Minho composed himself enough to poke Jisung with his sword. “So, why were you rummaging through my brother’s things.”

“My original plan was to find the note with the directions Changbin gave the prince and just anonymously give it to you.” Jisung gestures to the room. “You can see how that went.”

“So if you’re not a thief, then what’s your line of work, and why are you helping me?”

“First off, I’m an assassin— DON’T.” Jisung lifts his hands towards Chaewon and Felix, who lifted their swords. “I only take jobs that deal with bad people. Second, knowing that the prince is probably in some sort of danger all alone doesn’t sit well with me.”

Eric pipes up. “An assassin with morals. Cute.”

“He gets it,” Jisung says, lifting his hand up for a high five, smiling when Eric agrees.

Chaewon smacks Eric’s arm and turns to Jisung. “Can you…” She covers her ears with her hands.

“Oh! Okay!” Jisung covers his ears with his hands, allowing the four to have some semblance of privacy.

“So?” Chaewon asks. “What’s the plan?”

“We find this Changbin guy, get Seungmin’s location, and get Jeongin, duh,” Minho says.

“So you’re trusting Jisung?” Felix asks. “The guy seems genuine, but he also broke in.”

“To help us,” Eric interjects. “Besides, if he’s lying, we’ll find out when we explain everything to Changbin. Speaking of.”

Eric looks over at Jisung, who still had his ears covered. Eric walked over and removed his hands. “How do we find Changbin?”

“I’ll just take you to his tavern when we all head out,” Jisung replies.

“‘We?’” Minho repeats. “What makes you think you’re coming with us?”

“You’re not the only one who needs to find Seungmin. Besides, it would be nice to have an extra knife in a fight.”

“I kicked your ass.”

“I was defending myself. If I was actually fighting then you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“With you and that kitchen knife?”

“We get it!” Eric interrupts. “The sun is going to rise soon. Let’s pack up, pick up Hyunjin, and head into the village.”

“Eric, can you tell your parents to tell mine that we’re getting Jeongin?” Minho asks.

Eric raises an eyebrow. “Why won’t you tell them yourself?”

“They’ll have a much harder time letting me go if they see me face to face.”

“Sounds like a little prince that we know,” Felix says. “Now we know where he gets it from.”

“Can we just pack please,” Minho groans.

The others file out of Jeongin’s room, leaving Minho alone with Jisung.

Minho slowly walks up to Jisung, keeping eye contact with him as he lifts his sword under his chin once again. Jisung could only stare in stunned silence.

“I’ll be nice and let you tag along,” he says in a low voice. “But if I see one slip up, one misstep, one wrong move that screws over the others and my baby brother.” Minho puts more pressure on the sword. “You’re going to wish I killed you in this room. It would be a much kinder fate than the things I’m thinking of right now.”

Jisung slowly nods, feeling his heart race and face heat up. “Okay,” he whispers.

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, Your Majesty.”

Minho takes a step back and removes the sword. “Good, now come on. I need to pack and you can’t be left alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took about an hour for everyone to pack their things and grab Hyunjin, allowing them to reach the village just after dawn.
> 
> Minho hung back while walking, watching Hyunjin carefully eye Jisung.
> 
> “So we’re just going to trust him?” Hyunjin quietly says to Minho.
> 
> “No, but I don’t see any other leads,” Minho replies. “If all else fails, it’s going to be five against one.”
> 
> “What a nice silver lining.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a nice big chapter of lore ft the rest of the members

It took about an hour for everyone to pack their things and grab Hyunjin, allowing them to reach the village just after dawn.

Minho hung back while walking, watching Hyunjin carefully eye Jisung.

“So we’re just going to trust him?” Hyunjin quietly says to Minho.

“No, but I don’t see any other leads,” Minho replies. “If all else fails, it’s going to be five against one.”

“What a nice silver lining.”

“I have to ask,” Jisung says. He turns around and continues to walk backward. He points at the twins. “Did you guys make that alert spell? I thought you could only do magic outside of the Ninth Realm if you’re super old.”

“It depends on how powerful the magic is,” Chaewon explains. "Chan has been alive for hundreds of years, which is how he can enchant weapons. Felix and I are currently the same age as Hyunjin and Eric, so we can only do very weak things. The alert spell falls under that.”

“So you two are basically babies?”

“Don’t push it.”

Jisung looks over at Felix, who was nodding from behind Chaewon and mouthing the word “Yes.”

“How much farther is this tavern?” Hyunjin asks.

“Actually, it’s right around the corner!” Jisung turns and hurries ahead, leaving the others to catch up. They all find him standing in front of a large building, with his arms up in the air.

“Welcome to the Crescent Moon!”

“I’ve always walked by this place, but I’ve never been inside,” Erics says as they enter.

The moment they step foot inside, all conversation in the room quiets down, and Minho continues to look straight ahead and ignore the whispers as he makes his way to the bar where a worker had their back to them as they restocked the shelves.

“Is there a Changbin here?”

“He’s upstairs in his office, but who’s aski—” The worker turns around, making eye contact with Minho. “Ah shit— I mean, uh. Ah shit, Your Majesty?”

“We’re going to head upstairs. Thanks, Yujin,” Jisung interjects, taking the lead up the stairs.

Jisung doesn’t even bother knocking before he enters the room. “Changbin!!”

“Jisung I told you if you’re going to barge in at least do it quietly.” Changbin looks up at the group who entered, and his eyes widened when he looks to Minho. He quickly stands up. “Your Majesty? Is there a problem?”

“You spoke to my brother. Is this true?” Minho asks.

“I did. Is he okay? I swear I didn’t do anything,” Changbin answers quickly, holding his hands up.

“The young prince went missing the day after you spoke to him, and we have reason to believe he went to find Kim Seungmin,” Felix explains.

“He’s missing?” Changbin slumps back into his chair. “When he asked where to find Seungmin, I didn’t think he would go alone.”

“That’s what it looks like,” Jisung says. “Can you tell us where to find Seungmin?”

Changbin pulls out a quill and parchment and begins to write. “It’s a bit of a trip, so I suggest getting a cart. He’s hidden in the Yellow Woods with some cloaking magic, but I’m sure your little fae friends will be able to figure out.”

“What do you do to get in?” Jisung asks.

“Wait, how did you figure these two out?” Hyunjin asks while pointing to the twins.

“First off, Seungmin’s spell is modified so anyone he doesn’t want to hide from won’t be affected by it. Second.” He turns to the twins. “I’m sure most people just think you two are unnervingly pretty, but I can smell the fae blood in your veins.”

The twins glance at each other as Changbin hands Jisung the note. “Directions plus a note from me so that you guys appear far more trustworthy.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Eric tells Changbin.

“Don’t worry about it. I may have known Prince Jeongin for only a day, but he’s a good kid. I’m sure Seungmin will treat him nicely too.” Changbin then turns to Minho. “Safe travels, Your Majesty. I’m sorry for telling Jeongin everything that Seungmin told me. When you find him, tell him I’ll give him that meal I promised.”

Minho nods. “You don’t need to apologize, Changbin, but thank you for your help, and being a friend to Jeongin.”

“Who can resist him?”

Minho laughs at that. “That’s how he ropes you in.”

“I’ll see you soon, Bin,” Jisung says, giving him a hug.

As the others leave, Changbin doesn’t let go of Jisung just yet. Once the last person leaves, he pulls away and looks at Jisung.

“What do you need to go to Seungmin for? And with a royal entourage? You know I can just pick up stuff for you.”

“I’d rather see Seungmin myself,” Jisung replies. “I can’t wait until the next time you visit him.”

“Stay safe, okay?”

“I will.”

Jisung waves goodbye to Changbin and meets up with the others outside, who were discussing their next move.

“I can grab the horses and carts from the palace,” Eric says. “Dorte only listens to me anyway.”

“That horse is a menace,” Minho mutters.

“That’s my baby you’re talking about.”

“I need more arrows, so why don’t the rest of us go visit that Chan guy,” Hyunjin says. He turns to the twins. “I know you two are probably curious.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Felix replies. “First we find out there’s another fae here, and then your friend finds out about Chaewon and I. Jeongin can mention knowing faes, but he told us he’d never tell anyone who the faes he knows are. Not even that we work for Minho.”

“I mean, it’s not hard for Changbin to tell,” Jisung says while shrugging. “He told you guys he could smell it. That’s how he knew something was off with Chan.”

“What does that mean?” Eric asks.

Jisung points to the front of Changbin’s tavern, right where the name of it was. “He picked the name 'Crescent Moon’ for a reason.”

It took a second for everyone to fully understand what Jisung was implying, but when it finally hit, they were left speechless.

Jisung laughed at everyone’s stunned expressions. “Now that you’ve got it, can we go see Chan now? We’ll meet back here with Eric.”

“Changbin’s a werewolf,” Minho whispers. “Is there any other reveals you wish to share?”

“Where’s the fun in telling you everything at once?” Jisung teases. “If you really want to know though, I am an immortal vampire who is going to put you under my spell.”

Hyunjin whacks Jisung’s arm. “Quit kidding around and take us to Chan. Eric, we’ll see you in a bit.”

“One more thing, Eric.” Jisung walks up to him and points to a bakery down the road. “You all had time to pack but me, so can you ask the owner Hitomi to bring me my emergency bag? She’ll know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course!” Eric replies.

“If she starts getting defensive, tell her you know about the piano incident.”

“...Okay?”

Eric splits off as the others head over to Chan's shop. It did not take long for Jisung to bring them to a small shop by the village’s outskirts. Black smoke poured out from the back of the shop and is dispersed by the wind, dramatically framing the shop. The large sign mounted at the front read “Steel-Kissed Edge.”

Jisung leads the way inside, similar to how he entered Changbin’s office.

“Chan!!”

“Jisung, please stop shouting whenever you— shit.”

Chan had a displeased look on his face as he looked past Jisung’s shoulder, right at Chaewon and Felix. Next to Chan, sitting up on the counter, was a dark haired man, looking between the twins and Chan.

“Are they…?”

“Yes, Jacob.”

“I can explain,” Jisung starts. “But first, you should probably see him too.”

Jisung steps aside to reveal Minho, who gave Chan and Jacob a small wave. If it was possible for Chan to look more distressed, he managed it. He stepped around the counter and bowed, Jacob quickly doing the same thing.

“Your Majesty, what can I do for you?”

“Nothing for me, Chan, but my friend Hyunjin here is looking for some new arrows.” Minho then points to the twins. “I’m also sure my two friends have some questions.”

“Jacob, you know where I keep my arrows right?” Chan asks, keeping his eyes on the twins.

Jacob continued to look confused. “Yes?”

“Great, help them. The faeries can follow me into the forge.” Chan opens a door behind the counter, beckoning the twins to follow him.

Chaewon looks to Minho. “If we’re not out in ten minutes, come get us.”

She heads into the room, Felix following close behind.

“Jisung, what is going on?” Jacob asked, turning to his friend.

“I didn’t think Chan would react like that when he saw them,” Jisung replies. “I thought it would be a cute reunion or something.”

“Jisung, you once brought a raccoon into my home because you thought it was cute. Forgive me if I don’t trust your judgment outside of work.”

“What was the name?” Felix asks.

“Please don’t encourag—”

“Changbin,” Jisung proudly replies.

Hyunjin sighs. “Can I still get my arrows even if they end up hating each other?”

“Oh!” Jacob rushes into a side room and comes back with a bundle of arrows in his arms, placing them on the counter. He looked at the bundle and frowned. “I don’t know how much this is.”

Minho walked up and put three gold coins down. “Take whatever the extra is as a bribe to not kill my guards.”

“He’s not going to hurt them,” Jacob says. “He probably just wants to know what they’re doing here.”

“He had no idea they were here when he moved here?” Jisung asks.

“He only showed up a year ago, and I doubt your guards ever needed to come here for new weapons,” Jacob says. “He’s always moving around. Paranoia, I guess.”

“Well, it’s not like anyone from his home would come after him, right?” Hyunjin asks. “Once you leave, you can’t come back, right?”

“Only the queen can,” Jisung says. “Plus, Chaewon mentioned that she can bless others in an urgent situation, which makes me wonder if Chan counts as one.”

Jacob shrugs in response. “Beats me. He never told me why he left.” Jacob then picks up the money Minho left for him, handing one of the gold coins back. “This looks like way too much. Take this one back.”

“It’s fine. Chan can get some expensive materials with it,” Minho says with a smile.

“Well let me give you something in return.” Jacob reaches into his pocket and places something on the desk. “How about a reading?”

“A what?”

Jacob beckons Minho forward with a big smile, and Minho approaches the counter. “I’m a fortune teller! Let’s see how whatever trip you guys are going on will go.”

“When I said Jacob knew everyone, this is what I meant. A lot of people have come to him for readings and guidance,” Jisung says.

“Even you?” Hyunjin asks him.

“I’ve always preferred to watch him work instead of being his subject.”

Minho watches as Jacob shuffles the deck of tarot cards in his hands. Jacob evenly splits the deck into three and puts them back together. He splays them all out in front of Minho. “Pick three, Your Majesty.”

Minho carefully picked out three of the cards, not really having a strategy but instead just making sure he evenly spaced it out. He flipped them all over, waiting for Jacob's reaction.

Surprisingly, Jacob’s smiling face was replaced with a terrified expression. He looked back up at Minho and quickly composed himself, but it was clear to see that his smile did not hold the same light as before.

“What’s wrong with the cards?” Hyunjin asks.

“Um…” Jacob carefully picked his words before continuing. “Death, ten of swords, and the tower are all tough cards.”

“Define tough,” Minho says cautiously. “Bluntly, if you can.”

“Pain, suffering, turmoil, and a rapid and unexpected change,” Jacob explains, not looking anyone in the eyes. “Basically, there will be multiple casualties.”

Minho felt his throat close up listening to Jacob’s explanation. It was impossible. It had to be.

“Well, cards aren’t exactly specific!” Jacob hurriedly says. He grabs Minho’s hand to stop them from shaking. “It could mean your enemies are the casualties. I mean, I doubt casualties would happen with Jisung and your two fae friends around, right?”

Minho stared blankly at the cards in front of him, only barely registering what Jacob said. He was drawn out of his thoughts when Jisung placed a hand on his shoulder, subtly tightening his grip.

“Prince Minho told me about their weapons while he was packing. Whoever pisses them off are going to be the ones with multiple casualties, right Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin looked at Jisung’s face, which was smiling just a bit too hard to get the point across.

“Oh, of course!” Hyunjin agrees, ruffling Minho’s hair. “You’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve too. After all, you kicked Jisung’s ass earlier.”

“I already told you, I was defending myself and not fighting back.”

“Do you defend all the time, because you’re getting pretty defensive right now.”

“He can pull his weight,” Minho suddenly says. He looked up at Hyunjin and Jisung, attempting to smile. “He was quick to stop me when I sneaked up on him. He’ll be useful.”

“Thank you,” Jisung says, giving a smug smile to Hyunjin.

“Thank you, what?”

Now it was Hyunjin’s turn to be smug as Jisung’s cocky smile disappeared. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Fate is finicky,” Jacob tells Minho. “There are very few certainties in life. Don’t take one interpretation of the cards as one of them.”

Before Minho could reply, the door to the forge opened up, and Chan, Felix, and Chaewon finally returned, Chan carrying a bundle of arrows. The others looked at the three cautiously, waiting for something good or bad to happen. The tense silence was finally broken when Chan placed his arrows on the counter and took off the ones Jacob brought.

“Take those instead,” he says to Hyunjin. “They’re enchanted.”

“Pardon?” Hyunjin says. He turned to Chaewon and Felix for an explanation, but they were looking anywhere but at the others. Chaewon seemed to be very interested in the handle of her rapier, while Felix kept adjusting his beret.

“Chaewon and Felix explained everything to me,” Chan explains. “I’m going to be honest and say that there is a chance that Prince Jeongin will end up in the Ninth Realm. I don’t know how you’re going to get in and out, and dealing with Queen Vivi will be difficult, but I’d prefer if you had something that could benefit you.”

“The prince is where?” Jacob asks.

“I’ll explain later.” He then turned to Hyunjin and held up three different coloured arrows. “The grey ones will send a gust of wind all around where it landed, the green ones will cause rocks to erupt from the ground and make a makeshift wall if you shoot it into the ground, and the black ones are regular ones.”

Hyunjin accepted the bundle with an astonished expression. “I— thank you so much! How much more do we owe you?”

“Whatever you paid for originally is enough. I just…” Chan stops himself, thinking over what to say. “Chaewon and Felix know why I am so invested in the issue surrounding the Vitality Gem, so I would like to see you all succeed.”

“Vitality Gem?” Hyunjin asks.

“That’s what I believe Prince Jeongin is looking for,” Chan explains.

“Thank you so much,” Minho tells Chan. “I won’t forget to repay your kindness.”

“Well, I won’t complain if you recommend a new place for your knights to get weapons,” Chan says with a wink. “Unenchanted, of course. I imagine your friends value discretion as much as I do.”

“Your secret is safe with me, and once we’re back with Jeongin I will be sure to let them know. Thank you for the reading too, Jacob.”

“Oh, well you’re welcome, Your Majesty,” Jacob replies. “I’m sure your journey will be fine.”

Jisung gives Jacob a tight hug. As they walked towards the door, Chan called out to them one last time.

“Jisung, keep them safe.”

Jisung turns around to smile at Chan. “You’re trusting me to keep the prince safe? I’m touched.”

Chan simply smiled back, but Minho noticed something off with it. “What can I say? You’re one of a kind.”

The group heads back to the Crescent Moon, where Eric was sitting on top of a horse with two bags and an axe in the cart.

Hyunjin tosses his bag in and climbs up on the second horse. The rest follow and sit in the cart.

Eric turns to face everyone. “So, how’d it go?”

* * *

Eric stood in front of the bakery, tapping his foot nervously.

Did he just go up to whoever was working? Who was Hitomi? Will she know where the bag is? Does Jisung even have a bag?

He turned to the horses, who were tied to a post nearby. “Don’t go anywhere until I come back.”

He entered the bakery and was hit with the smell of fresh bread, reminding him of his old hometown.

“Hello! How may I help you?”

Eric turned to see a short girl with cheeks as chubby as Jisung’s standing behind a counter, smiling at him.

“Uh, I’m an… acquaintance of Jisung’s. He asked me to ask Hitomi to grab his emergency bag. Are you Hitomi?”

The girl’s cheerful expression quickly changed into a more guarded one. “How do you know Jisung?”

“I know about the piano incident.”

The girl’s eyes widened in fear. “Alright, okay. I’m Hitomi, hello.”

 _“What the hell happened with a piano?”_ Eric thought to himself. “So… the bag?”

“Oh, of course! Follow me.”

Hitomi leads Eric to a door by one of the tables and unlocks it, revealing a staircase leading downstairs.

“Jisung lives here under the bakery with the others, but everyone is on a job right now,” Hitomi explains as she walks downstairs. “Thank goodness for that too, I don’t know what I’d do if the bosses caught me.”

“Wait.” Eric looks at the small girl who could probably be knocked over by a strong breeze. “You’re an assassin too?”

“When we’re low on staff, yes, but I prefer baking. I think Eunbi only keeps me around only for my bread.”

Maybe it was best if Eric didn’t get on her bad side.

The stairs led to an open living area, with personal belongings littered across the couches and unfinished food on the table.

Hitomi ran off to a bedroom and came back with a bag in her hands. “Here’s Jisung’s bag. Do you know how long he’s going to be gone?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure,” Eric replies.

Hitomi simply nods. “That’s alright. I was hoping for some sort of estimate to tell the bosses.”

“Do they not know he’s leaving?”

“Recently, he has a tendency to disappear for two or three days, but no one knows why,” she explains. “Always comes back looking a bit upset though.”

Eric takes the opportunity to ask something that’s been bugging him since meeting Jisung. “I’m going to be travelling with Jisung, so I have to ask what he’s like.”

“Jisung’s quite a nuisance, but that’s what people love about him,” Hitomi explains. “When he starts getting on your nerves, that’s when you know he truly cares because that’s when he starts getting attached. You won’t find anyone who feels safer than him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a good person to have in a fight, even if he’s a bit impulsive. Always watches your back.” Eric watches Hitomi smile and slowly nod as she speaks, almost as if she was reminiscing a situation like what she was describing.

The two silently walk back upstairs, where Hitomi stops him one last time. He watches her put a few bread rolls into a bag and hand it to him.

“You probably have food, but take some extra.”

“Thank you so much,” Eric says, taking the bag. “How much is it?”

“It’s free, but if you want to repay me, you can do me a favour.” Hitomi clasps her hands together. “Please keep Jisung safe. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said he’s impulsive.”

Eric quickly nods his head. “There won’t be a scratch on him when he comes home.”

Eric leaves the shop and sniffs the bread.

_“I hope she didn’t poison it.”_

* * *

“So you got an ominous fortune while the twins were talking to Chan?” Eric asks. “And he trusted Hyunjin with magic arrows?”

The group had officially left the village and were catching each other up as they began to make their journey towards the Yellow Woods, and Minho wrapped up explaining what was going on on his and Hyunjin’s end.

“I’m the only archer here,” Hyunjin says.

“You almost shot me once.”

“WE WERE TEN ERIC. GET OVER IT.”

“So, how was Hitomi?” Jisung interrupted. “I see you got some bread, so you must have done something right.”

“She’s a very sweet girl, but she got really scared when I mentioned the piano incident,” Eric says with a laugh.

Jisung throws his head back and laughs. “I’ll explain it to you one day, but it worked, didn’t it? She trusted you instantly.”

“Trusted me enough to tell me to watch out for you, but I told her you will return home without a scratch.”

Minho notices Jisung’s smile twitch for a split second before returning to his charismatic look. “Felix, Chaewon, what happened with Chan?”

Minho glanced at Hyunjin, who was looking at Jisung suspiciously as well. He met Minho’s eye and raised an eyebrow, and Minho simply shrugged back. At least he wasn’t the only one who noticed the shift.

The twins were silent ever since they finished talking with Chan, and did not make eye contact with anyone, at least until Jisung brought them up.

“Well, the first thing he told us was that he made our swords,” Felix starts. “We didn’t know he made them when we stole them and ran.”

“More importantly, we ended up leaving the Ninth Realm for the same reasons,” Chaewon says bitterly.

Minho saw Jisung open his mouth and quickly grabbed his leg, bringing a finger to his lips. Jisung subtly nods his head, remaining quiet.

“Did he at least tell you guys anything useful?” Hyunjin asks.

“Besides the name of the thing Jeongin might be looking for, no,” Felix responds. “He was pretty secretive about some stuff.”

“He didn’t threaten you or anything, right?” Minho asks.

Felix leans over and pinches Minho’s cheek, much to his dismay. “We were fine, you big baby. He was just really nervous.”

Minho bats his hand away. “I’m not a baby. I’m the oldest here.”

“Hold on.” Jisung looks at the twins. “Which one of you is the oldest?”

Felix shrugs. “We’re twins, so it really doesn’t matt—”

“Three minutes and 37 seconds older,” Chaewon says with a smug grin.

“Can we get back on track?” Eric turns his head and looks at the four in the cart. “Hyunjin and I will keep riding for another hour or two. The rest of you take a nap or something.”

“Gladly,” Felix responds, flopping down and placing his head on the pile of bags, Chaewon quickly mimicking him.

Jisung looked over at Minho, who made no move to lie down. The prince had a vacant look on his face as he stared out into the distance, mindlessly tapping his fingers on the hilt of his sword that was sitting on his lap. Even though the two were sitting next to each other, Jisung leans in close to his ear, making sure the others couldn’t hear him whisper.

“Not sleepy?”

Minho just shakes his head, still staring out.

“At least lie down for a bit,” Jisung continues. “Can’t have you slacking off if we have to fight.”

“I’m not tired or anything, I’m just—” Minho clenches his jaw, breaking his gaze away from the forest scenery to look at the assassin. “Don’t worry about it.”

The last time Jisung got a good view of Minho’s face, it was when he was too busy being threatened. Now, with no need to be worrying over his life, Jisung could see that while the prince did look bad, he definitely did not look as tired as he should be. He looked alert and anxious, as if he was expecting something to happen at any moment.

“Your Majesty, has anyone ever told you that you look like shit, or is everyone too afraid to be honest with you?”

Minho raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying I look like shit?”

“I’ve seen you do better.”

“Are you always this annoying?”

“Yes, now answer my question.”

Minho shakes his head and lets out a short laugh. “Jeongin wouldn’t be afraid. Even if I was all dressed up he’d call me ugly and I’d just call him it back.”

“Is that why you can’t sleep?” Jisung asks. “Thinking about him?”

Minho stays silent for a moment before speaking. “I’m too antsy. We finally have a lead and I don’t want to miss a thing.”

“Well the only thing you’re missing right now is that tree,” Jisung says, pointing to one of the many trees surrounding them. “And that one, and that one, and that one.”

“I get it, okay, but even if I wanted to sleep, I can’t.”

Jisung looks over at the twins, who seem to be knocked out cold. As for Hyunjin and Eric, they were far enough away and too busy wrapped up in their own conversation to notice anything Jisung and Minho whisper to each other.

He turned back to Minho with a grin on his face. “Let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game?” Minho asks.

Jisung pulls out his dagger and pointed to the trees around them. “We pick a tree for the other person to throw the dagger at. If you hit the tree, you get to ask me a question and vice versa.”

Minho quietly laughs. “Alright, I’ll go first.” He picks up the dagger, waiting for Jisung’s cue.

Jisung’s eye catches a tree with a falling branch. “That one, quickly.”

Minho throws the dagger, and the two watch it sink into the center of the trunk. Jisung sticks his hand back and summons the dagger back.

“Why are you an assassin?” Minho asks.

“Skipping right past the favourite colours and animals, huh?” Jisung says. “Well, I’m an assassin because it’s a good way to learn information, and I am a very curious person.”

“What exactly are you curious about?” Minho asks.

Jisung shakes a finger at him. “Only one question, Your Majesty. Now pick a tree.”

Minho points at a tree with peeling bark, and Jisung hits it with ease. He brings the dagger back and points to the twins. “Why couldn’t I ask about them?”

“They’ve never told anyone why they left the Ninth Realm,” Minho explains. “When we were younger, they kind of locked up when we asked, so we decided to just let them tell us when they were ready.”

“It’s been how many years now?”

Minho mimics Jisung’s shaking finger at him. “Only one question, Jisung.”

Jisung smacks his hand away, causing Minho to smack his hand back in retaliation.

“Are you sure you’re not the younger prince?” Jisung asks.

“I’m never letting you meet Jeongin,” Minho says. “Once we find him, I’ll have Chaewon arrest you for assaulting a member of the royal family.”

Jisung laughs loudly before Minho shushes him, looking over at the sleeping twins.

The game continues with Minho landing another hit on a tree trunk. He turns to Jisung. “Did you always live in Levanter?”

“Not in the capital. Lived on a farm until I moved here when I lost my parents. Luckily, Eunbi took me in.”

“A farm boy? Is that why you’re so curious?” Minho asks. “You went from knowing one place all your life to moving to the capital?”

Jisung pauses before answering. “I never really thought about it that way, but yes. I guess that’s part of it. There are always so many new things to learn just in the village alone.”

“You’re telling me. This morning alone I learned so much about the people living here.” Minho leans back against his hands and looks up at the tops of the trees sheltering them. “Whenever I did leave the castle and head down, I never really talked to others. Jeongin’s the more sociable one.”

“I would see Prince Jeongin a lot,” Jisung says. “Even if he wasn’t close with some people, he would still greet anyone he made eye contact with.”

“Were you one of them?” Minho asks.

Jisung holds up one finger. “Only one question, Your Majesty.”

Jisung hits the next tree with ease and turns to Minho. “Were you going to kill me when you caught me in Prince Jeongin’s room?”

“Woah, okay.” Minho’s eyes widened. “Heavy question, but no. I was angry, but not that angry. I would’ve just locked you up.”

Jisung sighs in relief. “Oh, that’s great to hear. That makes this trip easier for me.”

“I’d keep an eye on Hyunjin if I were you. Jeongin is basically his brother too with how long we’ve all known each other.”

The two turn to look at Hyunjin and notice him eyeing them warily. Catching Jisung’s eye, he quickly turns his head back around.

“Just because I wouldn’t have killed you doesn’t mean I trust you though,” Minho says bluntly. “Remember what I told you.”

Jisung points out a tree as he responds. “I won’t give you a reason to worry. Even if I did, I doubt you could kill me.”

Surprisingly, Minho misses the tree. The prince turns to Jisung angrily. “Let me redo it. I was tired.”

Jisung gave Minho a smug smile as he summoned his dagger back. “Tired?”

“Yes, so let me—” Minho cuts himself off, realizing what Jisung’s plan was this whole time. “You were trying to wear me down.”

Jisung sheaths his dagger and lays his head down on one of the bags. “I was, and it worked. Now go sleep so I can too.”

Minho grabs one of the bags and lays down, making sure to cause a fuss as he threw himself down, his back facing Jisung.

“Sweet dreams, Your Majesty,” Jisung whispers.

It was silent for a moment before Minho whispers back.

“Sleep well, Jisung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho awoke to screams and shaking.
> 
> He sat up in an instant, nearly headbutting Eric who was the one trying to shake him awake.
> 
> “Bandits started attacking while Felix and Chaewon were riding,” Eric quickly says. “They’re fighting them with Jisung and Hyunjin, come on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello happy new year heres a short chapter also i forgot how much i hate writing fight scenes

Minho awoke to screams and shaking.

He sat up in an instant, nearly headbutting Eric who was the one trying to shake him awake.

“Bandits started attacking while Felix and Chaewon were riding,” Eric quickly says. “They’re fighting them with Jisung and Hyunjin, come on!”

Minho grabs his sword and hops out of the cart in an instant. Up ahead on the trail was where the fight was happening. He could see Chaewon keeping one bandit at bay with her ignited sword, and Felix keeping another back as spots of ice appeared on the ground wherever his sword hit.

Jisung and another bandit were locked in a tough fight as the two slashed at and dodged each other.

“Guys, step back!” Hyunjin shouts, loading up an arrow.

The three step back just as Hyunjin let the arrow fly. Minho notices the grey colour just as it lands in front of the bandits. A gust of wind quickly follows, knocking over all the bandits.

Minho and Eric took the opportunity to charge forward. While Eric slashed at one with his axe, Minho set his sights on what looked like their leader, judging by the way he was barking orders at the others.

He brought his sword down on the leader, who raises his own to block the attack. Minho ignores the sounds around him as the fight resumes for everyone else, focusing only on the man in front of him.

 _“You’re not slowing me down,”_ Minho thought to himself, striking once more. _“You’re not stopping me from finding Jeongin.”_

The fight continues, and Minho didn’t feel any fatigue as he kept slashing over and over again, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible. Eventually, Minho knocks him off his feet and points his sword to his chest.

“You disappoint me, Your Majesty,” the bandit wheezes out.

Minho winces at the title. “Shut up,” he growls.

“It seems like I was wrong to assume that a prince would be smart enough to pay attention to his surroundings.”

The bandit leader’s eyes shift to the trees to the left, and Minho turns around just in time to make eye contact with an archer sitting comfortably in the tree, pointing an arrow right at Minho. The arrow flies, and just as Minho wonders what he would want as his last words, he feels a body slam into his back.

Minho tastes the dirt as he is thrown away from where he was standing. He looks up, dazed and confused, and could vaguely make out the shape of Jisung with an arrow in him before he is tackled to the ground by the bandit leader.

The two wrestle on the ground, and it is then that Minho realizes that he dropped his sword when he was pushed away. He lifts his hands and grabs the bandit leader’s hands to push them away just as he tries to push a knife down into Minho’s chest.

“Do us a favour and stay still just for a moment,” the bandit hisses.

“Actually, thank _you_ for staying still,” a deep voice says.

The bandit goes still as a thin blade goes through his heart, ice sprouting from wound and slowly spreading throughout his body as he falls to the ground. In front of Minho was Felix, who was stumbling around as he tries to shake the blood off of his rapier.

It was then that Minho realizes that the fight was over. He looks around at the mess surrounding them. A charred body laid on the ground, with a frozen one right next to it. Eric was using a leaf to get the blood off of his axe, and Hyunjin was picking up arrows off the ground.

“Arrows… JISUNG!” Minho shouts. He got up and ran to where Jisung was sitting, grabbing his shoulders tightly. “Are you…” He trails off as he looks at the assassin’s chest, not seeing a single wound on him.

“Hey, hey, what is it?” Jisung asks, gently holding Minho’s shaking arms.

“You… I saw you get shot,” Minho chokes out. “I thought you got hit when you pushed me…”

“You probably just saw the arrow go right past me,” Jisung explains. “I pushed you hard and you’re probably just confused.”

Minho could only stare blankly at Jisung as the others approach.

“Jisung is stupidly durable apparently, but I’m more concerned about you,” Chaewon says, crouching down in front of Minho. She carefully examines his face and sighs, pointing to her right cheek. “You got a scratch right there, but that’s about all that’s visible. All of us will probably be sore in the morning.”

“You should lie down until we set up camp,” Felix tells him. “If you hit your head so bad you hallucinated Jisung getting shot, then I don’t want you riding a horse.”

“Guys, I could’ve sworn it happened,” Minho says, trying to remember what occurred.

Eric approaches them with Minho’s sword, handing it back to him. “None of us saw what happened before, but I saw Jisung scaling that tree and taking down that archer like it was nothing. Right, Hyunjin?”

Minho looks over at Hyunjin, who was silently listening to the conversation, looking at Jisung the entire time. Hearing his name, he snaps out of his daze and looks at Minho. “Jisung was fine, Minho. You’re seeing things.”

Hyunjin doesn’t wait for anyone before walking back to the cart. The others follow shortly, and Minho catches up to Jisung before looking at him.

“Thank you for saving me,” Minho whispers to him.

“Well, what kind of citizen would I be if I let the prince die?” Jisung jokes.

Minho gently shoves him. “I’m serious, Jisung. Thank you.”

Jisung smiles, wiping a bit of dirt off of Minho’s cheek. “You’re welcome. If you’re going to be stuck with me, I’ll make it worthwhile.”

Chaewon and Felix get back on their horses as the others sit in the cart. Jisung makes a beeline for his sleeping corner and crashes immediately, and Minho feels a slight disappointment at the thought of Jisung not being awake to talk to.

Eric hands Minho a small bottle and points to the scratch on his cheek. “That should help it heal faster.”

Minho smiles and thanks him before turning to Hyunjin, who looked lost in thought. “Hyunjin, are you okay?”

Hyunjin blinks a few times and looks up at Minho. “I’m fine, just tired from the fight.”

Minho gives him one of the bags he slept on earlier. “Get some sleep then.”

Hyunjin gingerly takes the bag and sets it down. He slowly lies down and shuts his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Eric scoots over to sit next to Minho. “Is he okay?” he whispers.

“I don’t know. I guess he just exhausted himself from the fight,” Minho whispers back.

He looks up at the sky above, peeking out from between the leaves of the trees. It was going to be sunset soon, which meant they would have to find a place in the woods to camp for the night.

“Hey, Minho,” Eric whispers. Minho turns to look at Eric who was pulling something from his bag. “Guess what I brought?” Eric pulls out a wooden box that was painted in different colours and was very worn out.

Minho holds back a laugh as he takes the cube from Eric. “Why did you bring your puzzle box?”

“For times like this,” Eric explains. “We’re sitting around and bored out of our minds. Now give it here so I can show you how to complete one of the sides.”

The sun eventually set, and the group found a small clearing to stay for the night.

Minho reaches over to Jisung’s shoulder, shaking it lightly. “Jisung,” he says. “Wake up.”

Jisung slowly stirs as he sits up, slowly blinking at Minho, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. “What’s happening? Am I riding now?”

“We’re setting up camp and you and Hyunjin are on the first watch,” Minho explains. “Hyunjin’s already up.”

Jisung, still adjusting to being awake, gives Minho a thumbs up and stumbles out of the cart with his bag, Minho following closely behind.

“Hey Jisung, does the bakery sell pastries too?” Felix asks as they approach. The four were sitting around a fire and stuffing their faces with the bread Hitomi had gifted them. Minho and Jisung take a seat and accept the bread Chaewon hands them.

“They’ve got all sorts of baked goods, why?” Jisung replies.

“I’m going there as soon as we get back home,” Chaewon says, her cheeks stuffed with bread. “This is the best bread I’ve ever had in my life.”

“I want to see what else they have,” Felix clarifies. “Like Chaewon said, this is the best bread I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll sneak you guys some pastries in the castle when we get back,” Jisung says with a wink.

“You’re going to break in again?” Eric asks with a laugh.

“Of course not. Felix and I are going to be best friends and he’ll invite me in, obviously.” Jisung turns to Felix expectedly, waiting for a reply.

Felix blinks at Jisung, confused. “You’ll bring pastries, right?” he slowly asks.

“As much as you want.”

That was enough for Felix to get up from his spot, sit directly next to Jisung, and rest his head in his lap. “So, what’s your favourite colour?”

“I'm a big fan of red.”

As Eric and Chaewon laugh at Jisung and Felix’s bonding session, Minho looks over to Hyunjin, who was staring at Jisung, looking lost in thought just like before.

He wasn’t sure what happened during the fight, and getting hurt did not help his memory, but he could not recall anything that could have caused Hyunjin to get so distracted. He’s seen him in fights before, and at most he would just get exhausted. He knew what that looked like, and this wasn’t it. Whatever it was, it had to do with Jisung.

Minho scoots over to Hyunjin, gently nudging his shoulder. “Still tired?”

Hyunjin shakes his head, not taking his eyes off Jisung, who was now throwing pieces of bread for Chaewon to catch in her mouth.

“He fits in well, doesn’t he?” Hyunjin asks, finally looking at Minho.

Minho tilts his head, confused. “I guess. It looks like Chaewon got over her, ‘I’m going to stab him’ phase, which is always a good sign.”

“But what about you? Do you trust him?”

“It’s been less than 24 hours,” Minho answers. “He’s not bad, but he’s not in the clear.”

Hyunjin takes another bite of his bread, nodding slowly. “Is he interesting?”

“What?”

“You were talking before you napped. I figured you got to know each other.”

Instead of answering his question, Minho places his hand on Hyunjin’s. “Hyunjin, are you okay?”

Hyunjin softly smiles at Minho, squeezing his hand tightly. “I will be.”

Before Minho could say another word, Chaewon stands up and stretches. “Well, I’m exhausted. Let’s call it a day.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jisung stands up and approaches Hyunjin, holding a hand out and giving him a smile that Minho thinks isn't entirely genuine. “Let’s start our watch, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin hesitantly takes Jisung’s hand and stands, walking with him to the cart. As Minho got ready to sleep, he watches them carefully, but they only seem to be sitting in silence.

Minho thought back to his conversation with Hyunjin. Jisung was interesting, that was a certainty. Minho saw him like a book with torn out pages and blacked out words, and he wanted nothing more than to find out what was missing. Maybe he was like Jisung too. Maybe Minho was a curious person too, but he just never had anything to be curious about until right now.

A farm boy turned assassin who was helping find the missing prince. A boy who was an open book as long as he got to choose the chapter. No one has ever intrigued Minho like this, and maybe if he got his answers, he will find out what is so special about Han Jisung.

* * *

“Wakey wakey, Minho.”

Minho opens his eyes to see Felix inches from his face, poking his cheeks. Minho lifts his hand to Felix’s face, pushing him away.

“You know, you don’t _have_ to wake me up like that,” Minho says as he sits up. “You could just shake my shoulder.”

“But if I do that, I wouldn’t get to see your terrified face,” Felix replies. “We’re on watch now so the best friends can sleep soon.”

The tail end of the sentence caught Minho’s attention. “The what?”

Felix points past Minho, and Minho was sure he was hallucinating what he was seeing.

Jisung and Hyunjin were giggling with each other as they returned to the campsite, playfully hitting each other and whispering to each other.

“I’m telling you, I was standing there like a fool.”

“What did the other guy do?”

“He screamed in terror. I swear he thought I was a ghost.”

Hyunjin burst into laughter and Jisung quickly covered his mouth to quiet him down.

“Felix, did I hit my head too hard when I got tackled, or are you seeing this too?” Minho asks.

“Their laughing woke me up,” Felix replies. “I thought I was going crazy too.”

The two return to the campsite as Minho and Felix stand.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Jisung says, walking to his small setup.

“Goodnight,” the others reply.

As Felix and Minho walk over to the cart, Hyunjin grabs Minho’s arm, stopping him for a moment.

“I’m okay now,” he whispers to him.

Minho remains speechless as Hyunjin heads to sleep.

“What do you think they talked about?” Felix asks once Minho arrives.

“Whatever it was, it looked like whatever tension they had was resolved,” Minho answers. “Hyunjin seems to be back to normal.”

“Jisung seems to have a good effect on everyone, not just you.”

Minho tilts his head at Felix. “What about me?”

Felix leans against the small wall of the cart. “You looked pretty freaked out when you thought Jisung got shot,” he explains.

Minho rolls his eyes. “I would have reacted like that to any of you potentially dying. Actually, I would have reacted far worse if it was you or the others.”

“Okay, fine, but you can’t deny that Jisung’s good to have around,” Felix says. “Don’t tell me you won’t be disappointed once we separate after seeing Seungmin.”

Minho had forgotten about that. He had forgotten that after tomorrow, they would most likely be parting ways until Jeongin is brought back home, whenever that will be.

“I just want to know what his deal is,” Minho grumbles. “There’s something off about him.”

“You’ve never been this nosey about anyone else you’ve met back home.”

“That’s because no one else has been this present in my life in such a weird way,” he sighs. “I’m trusting some assassin who broke into my home to help me find my brother, and something is telling me he’s holding back on all his reasons for helping.”

“Besides helping, he says he wants to talk to Seungmin too, right?” Felix asks. “That seems like enough of a reason to tag along.”

“I still think there’s more to him. It’s the way that he looks sometimes—”

“You look at him a lot?” Felix asks with a devilish grin.

Minho’s only response was to kick Felix’s leg.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Felix quickly says, hopping off the cart and out of range of Minho’s attack. “Let’s change the topic. I’ll be back.”

Felix runs off down the path they rode in from earlier, leaving Minho alone in the cart. After a few minutes, Felix returns with an armful of flowers and dumps it between him and Minho.

Minho picks one of them up, looking at its white petals closely.

“They’re daisies,” Felix clarifies, picking a few of them up. Minho watches as Felix carefully braids them together into a circle and places it on his head.

“Ta-da!” Felix cheers. “Chaewon had two friends back home named Yena and Yuri who taught us how to make flower crowns. When I saw the daisies when we were looking for a place to rest, I was reminded of it.”

“Can you show me how to make them?” Minho asks.

“Of course!” Felix happily says. “We can make some for everyone.”

They spend the rest of their watch making crowns for everyone present, and Minho makes sure to make a seventh crown and carefully place it in his bag. He thinks daisies will look nice on Jeongin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An archway made from vines and flowers stands before them, which then turns into a long tunnel that ends in what looked like a small circular room with a small stone fountain in the centre. The roof and walls of the dome were made out of the same vines and flowers as before. At their feet at the arch’s entrance was a stone path, with something carved into the stone closest to them.
> 
> Minho crouches down to read it, only to be met with an unfamiliar sight.
> 
> “I have no clue what this says.”
> 
> Felix crouches down next to him and looks at the words, recognizing them immediately. “Well, that’s because it’s written in Sylvan, and only Jeongin paid attention when I tried to teach you two. I guess Seungmin picked up a bit of the language while travelling to and from the Ninth Realm. Let me translate it.”

“RISE AND SHINE ADVENTURERS!”

“Chaewon, shut UP!”

Minho opens his eyes to see Eric and Chaewon clanging his sword and Eric’s axe together as a makeshift alarm, much to Felix’s displeasure.

“How are you so awake?” Hyunjin groans from under his blanket.

“We took over the watch after Minho and Felix, now let’s get moving! We’ve got a witch to see,” Eric replies.

They pack up and made their way to the cart, but before Jisung and Minho could head towards the horses, Felix stops them.

From behind his back, Felix pulls out the flower crowns he and Minho made during the night. “I taught Minho how to make them!” Felix cheerfully says. He walks up to Chaewon and places one on her head.

Chaewon giggles as she adjusts the crown. “I didn’t think you remembered how to make them.”

Felix then walks up to Hyunjin, carefully placing the flower crown on his head and brushing the hair out of his eyes. “It was like muscle memory.”

Felix passes by Minho and hands him two crowns before heading over to Eric. Minho puts one of them on his head and hands the other one to Jisung. Jisung happily accepts it and, with delicacy that Minho had no clue exists within him, puts it on his head lopsidedly.

Minho looks at him and laughs.

Jisung pouts. “What? I don’t look cute?”

“No, it’s just—” Minho steps closer and reaches over to Jisung’s head, fixing the crown on his head. He then proceeds to try and tame Jisung’s bedhead and tuck some loose strands of hair behind his ears

“Does this count as you crowning me? Am I a little prince now?” Jisung asks.

“If you were, we would need a crown as big as your ego.”

“Hey, don’t get too smart with me. I’m not the only one with messy hair.”

It was now Jisung’s turn to fix Minho's hair. He carefully held Minho’s chin to keep his head still as he uses his other hand to fix his messy, blue hair. Minho could only stand perfectly still and think about how callous Jisung’s hands were against his face, and how it was a striking contrast to his soft cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Felix giving him a very self-righteous smile, and that was enough for Minho to take a step back.

“Seungmin, am I right? Let’s go see him!” Minho heads towards the horses, punching Felix’s arm as he walks by.

“Why did you punch him?” Jisung asks.

“I didn’t like how he was breathing.”

Jisung decides not to ask any further questions as he got on the horse with ease.

“Be careful with Dorte. She’s got a bad attitude,” Minho says as they begin their ride.

“It’s alright, I’m great with horses.” Jisung leans forward to pet Dorte as proof and to Minho’s surprise, the horse embraces his touch. “Farmboy, remember?”

“You had horses on your farm?”

“We had four in total along with a ton of other animals. I even had a pet cat.”

Minho nearly snapped his neck turning to look at Jisung with wide eyes. “A cat?”

Jisung holds back a laugh when he sees Minho’s expression. “A little calico named Boxer. I’m guessing you like cats too, judging by the three I saw in your room.”

“They were all strays I found whenever I went into the village,” Minho explains. “They’re my little babies.”

“I bet you’re one of those people who have little clothes for them.”

Minho points one finger at Jisung. “I know you’re saying this to tease me, but I actually do, and once we get back home I’ll be showing you just how cute their little hats are.”

Jisung is silent for a moment before speaking. “Does that mean we’ll be seeing each other after we find your brother?”

Minho quickly looks away from Jisung, keeping his gaze on his hands that were clutching the reins tightly. “Of course I’ll be seeing you. Everyone likes you.”

“Even y—”

Minho cuts him off. “Even Hyunjin. What happened last night anyway?”

Jisung sighs. “We just talked and ended up getting along. He realized that he had nothing to worry about with me, and I no longer think he has a stick up his ass.”

“You think he has a stick up his ass?”

“Not anymore.”

Minho still doesn’t look up as he continues. “I’m glad you two are getting along so well. Felix says you’re good to have around.”

Jisung’s voice is barely above a whisper. “And you? What do you think?”

Minho finally looks back up at Jisung, and his heart nearly melts at the fragile expression on his face.

“He’s right, and I know this because I am alive thanks to you.”

He may have avoided the question last night, but he was enough of a man to admit the truth. He felt safer around Jisung now compared to when they first began travelling. It felt good knowing he had another person looking out for him, even if it took some time to warm up to him.

What he refuses to admit is how he will feel once Jisung leaves. He was already thinking about what it would be like without him if they end up going to the Ninth Realm. It felt wrong to imagine, like an incomplete journey.

He couldn’t help but think of Jacob’s fortune. If Jisung left, will their own group have any casualties? There would have been one already if he hadn’t interfered, so was Jisung the solution? Is Jisung the reason Jacob’s fortune is not about them, but their enemies?

“You okay? Thinking hard about your kitties?” Jisung’s voice brought Minho back from his thoughts. Unsurprisingly, Jisung was smiling brightly at him, and Minho was thankful for the calm feeling it brought.

“I’m thinking about which outfit I’ll put them in when you properly meet them. Dori looks adorable with this red ribbon tied around her.”

“There’s this clothes shop I know that sells little animal clothes too that Changbin took me once.”

“Are you talking about Sunwoo’s?” Minho asks. “That’s where I get them. What were you two doing there? Getting something for your little wolf friend?”

“Why do you assume it’s for him? Maybe it’s for me.” Jisung lets go of the reins and brings his hands up like claws, attempting to growl like a wolf.

Minho doesn’t know what comes over him, but he bursts into a fit of laughter. He lets go of the reins for a moment to clutch his stomach as he continues laughing, not even noticing how the others in the cart were looking at him in confusion.

In the midst of his laughing fit, he feels himself slowly tilt to the right, and quickly realizes that he was about to fall. He flails his arms out to try and keep his balance. Just as he’s about to fall off, he felt someone grab his left hand. He looks and sees Jisung, who was holding his reins with one hand and leaning over to grab Minho with the other.

Jisung pulls Minho back up, giving him a bewildered look. “What was that?”

Minho grabbed onto the reins tightly, still laughing. “You looked dumb.”

“Dumb enough to make you laugh and fall off your horse?”

“Exactly.”

“If you two are done doing whatever it is that you’re doing, keep an eye out for a tree with yellow bark,” Eric interrupts. Minho looks back to see him holding one of the notes Changbin had given them. “Changbin said that we need to enter deeper into the woods on foot after that.”

“Did he say what to do after?” Minho asks.

“He’s got free access, so he has no clue,” Chaewon reminds them. “I just hope there’s no death traps or anything.”

“Of course there won’t be. Who in their right mind would do that, right?” Felix asks. He looks at his friends, who all remained silent and avoided his gaze. “Guys?”

“I mean, Seungmin secluded himself in a forest with magic protecting him. I don’t think we can waltz in without any worries,” Hyunjin says.

While the four in the cart bicker, Jisung and Minho listened and continued their journey.

Around two hours later, Minho is drawn out of his chat with Jisung when he spots what he is looking for.

“There it is!”

The horses and cart stop by a tree with yellow bark, just as Changbin had said. Just next to it was a pathway too narrow for the horses and cart.

Minho was about to hop off his horse when he sees Jisung standing next to it, holding a hand out.

“Allow me to help, _Your Majesty.”_

Rolling his eyes, Minho hops off his horse on his own, leaving Jisung standing with his hand still out. Felix runs and slaps Jisung’s hand with his own, giving Minho a disappointed look.

“Come on, Minho. Don’t leave him hanging.”

“Oops?” Minho responds.

Everyone grabs their bags and ties up the horses by the yellow tree.

“So we just have to go down this path? That’s it?” Eric asks, standing at the entrance of the path.

“There’s nothing else to do.” Chaewon moves to the front of the group, quickly followed by Felix standing next to her.

Eric and Minho follow, with Hyunjin and Jisung right behind them and soon enough, the six of them find themselves deep within the woods, finding no discernable details that could lead to Seungmin’s home.

The trees surrounding them looked like any other tree in the woods, minus the occasional yellow barked tree sprinkled across. There were animals peeking out from behind the trees, peering at the group curiously. Minho sees a squirrel crawl up a tree before promptly falling off one of the thin branches, landing in front of a deer that was watching the group.

They continue down the path for another ten minutes until they reach what looks like an archway.

An archway made from vines and flowers stands before them, which then turns into a long tunnel that ends in what looked like a small circular room with a small stone fountain in the centre. The roof and walls of the dome were made out of the same vines and flowers as before. At their feet at the arch’s entrance was a stone path, with something carved into the stone closest to them.

Minho crouches down to read it, only to be met with an unfamiliar sight.

“I have no clue what this says.”

Felix crouches down next to him and looks at the words, recognizing them immediately. “Well, that’s because it’s written in Sylvan, and only Jeongin paid attention when I tried to teach you two. I guess Seungmin picked up a bit of the language while travelling to and from the Ninth Realm. Let me translate it.”

Felix reads over the message before speaking once more.

_“The purest heart pumps the purest blood. Let the one who matches prove it at the altar. Do not stray from the path.”_

“Bit dramatic for my taste,” Eric says.

“So, who do we send in?” Hyunjin asks.

It goes silent as everyone looks at each other hesitantly, no one daring to make a move.

“I, for one, think you’re all great, but I’m worried about how high the standards for ‘the purest heart’ is,” Chaewon mentions. “How virtuous does Seungmin want us to be?”

Felix, who is still crouched on the ground, whispers into Minho’s ear. “Send in Jisung.”

Minho’s jaw drops. “What?”

“You want to trust him, right? This is how.”

“But what if it doesn’t work?”

Felix glances at Jisung, who, like the others, was looking at the pathway curiously. He looks back to Minho, putting a hand on his. “Nothing bad will happen to him, I promise you. Worst case scenario, Seungmin’s thing doesn’t work.”

Hesitantly, Minho squeezes Felix’s hand before standing up and looking to Jisung. “You said one of the reasons you were coming along was because Jeongin being missing didn’t sit right with you. That sounds like a pure heart to me.”

The others, with the exception of Felix, look at Minho in surprise. Jisung takes a step towards Minho, shaking his head.

“Look, I know you and I joke a lot and I say things about getting you to trust me, but doesn’t this seem like a bit of a leap?”

“Not at all,” Minho replies, smiling. He steps aside and gestures to the pathway. “What was it that Eric called you? An assassin with morals? It seems pure to me.”

“Minho—”

“What?”

Jisung sighs heavily. “Your Majesty, I’m flattered, but I don’t think I’m enough.”

Minho stared Jisung down. “I’d like to see the proof.”

Jisung’s resistance was off-putting, so Minho was surprised when he saw him reluctantly place his bag down and head down the path.

“That was good,” Felix whispers to him. “Does this mean you’re finally warming up to him?”

“I haven’t _finally_ warmed up to him,” Minho replies. Before Felix could complain, Minho continues. “I already have.”

Minho makes sure the others weren’t eavesdropping before continuing. “You were right about me being disappointed that he is going to leave soon, and you were right that he’s great for everyone, including me.”

He could feel his face flush as he speaks, and he decides that staring at grass was a much better alternative to seeing the smug look on Felix’s face. Unfortunately for Minho, Felix decides to swing an arm around him and squeeze him tight.

“That doesn’t change anything though,” Minho quickly says. “He’s still suspicious to me.”

“You know, Minho, you need to start asking yourself what your fascination with Jisung has turned into. You can only pretend to be suspicious of him for so long.”

Minho raises an eyebrow. “Felix, what exactly are you implying about—”

“Jisung!”

Hyunjin’s voice interrupts them and causes them to look back towards Jisung. He was about three quarters down the path, but took a step off to reach for one of the flowers decorating the walls.

“I’m just grabbing a flower!” Jisung yells back. “It’s a nice shade of red!”

“The message said not to stray from the path!” Eric shouts.

“It’s one step, I didn’t stray— ow!”

Jisung retracts his hand, which was now holding the flower he was trying to grab. He looks at his hand and lets out a deep sigh.

“Are you okay?” Chaewon asks.

Jisung gives her a thumbs up. “Just pricked myself on a thorn!”

Minho put a hand over his heart to steady his heartbeat. “He’s going to give me grey hairs.”

“Well on the bright side, I think you’d look nice like that,” Hyunjin points out.

“So you’re implying that Jisung will do more stupid things to stress me out.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

They turn their attention back to Jisung, who had put the flower in his chest pocket and walked down the rest of the path into the room with the alter.

Minho watches Jisung head towards it, dragging his feet behind him as his pace slowed. When Jisung approaches it, he places his hands on the edge of the bowl-shaped part of it and holds on tightly.

“Is he okay?” Chaewon asks. She takes a step forward but Hyunjin stops her.

“He’ll be fine,” he says.

Before anyone could say another word, they see Jisung tilt to one side, drop, and hit the ground, the top half of him hidden behind the altar with only his legs in view.

In the blink of an eye, Felix sprints along the pathway, barely escaping Hyunjin as he tries to grab onto him to stop him.

Eric, Chaewon, and Minho move to follow, but Hyunjin steps in front of them, blocking the path.

“Give Felix a minute.”

“Hyunjin, what the hell are you doing?” Chaewon nearly shouts at him.

“Look, just—” Hyunjin hesitates for a moment. “If we go in, maybe something bad will happen to Felix. Just trust him to check on Jisung.”

Reluctantly, they all step back and watch as Felix disappears behind the altar, presumably to figure out what happened with Jisung. They all silently wait with bated breaths, waiting for any kind of movement. After what seems like an eternity, Jisung’s legs move, and Minho falls to his knees in relief.

“Oh thank goodness,” Chaewon gasps out. “I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Can we go to them?” Eric asks, inching towards the path. Hyunjin puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Let them finish what Jisung needed to do first. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

Minho slowly stands back up, bringing a hand to his chest hoping that that would somehow get rid of the weight he felt on it.

He looked over at Chaewon, who was biting her lip nervously, to Eric, who was shifting his weight from one leg to the other, then to Hyunjin, who was completely calm and collected.

Across from them, Jisung and Felix appeared from behind the side of the altar. The two spoke for a moment before Jisung reached to his side and pulled out his dagger. He raised his other hand over the fountain and sliced his palm, letting the blood fall into the fountain.

For a moment, nothing happens, and Jisung throws his arms up in defeat, yelling to the others.

“I told you it won’t work! Bring Eric here, I’m sure the worst thing he’s done is steal a cookie from the kitchen!”

Minho takes a step forward. “Both of you come back! We’ll figure out—”

He cuts himself off as his vision goes hazy. He looks around quickly, seeing that the others look just as confused. All around him, his surroundings seem to be bending and stretching. He walks up to a tree and tries to touch it, only to see his hand pass right through it.

Everything around them gets more and more hazy until it clears up, and where the surrounding forest once was disappears, leaving behind a large clearing with a house around 20 feet away from Felix and Jisung.

The others run towards them. Jisung looks down at his sliced hand to the house, staring in awe. Minho reaches into his bag and grabs some bandages as he approaches.

“Told you,” Minho mutters as he bandages Jisung’s hand.

“Don’t get cocky,” Jisung replies. “It’s not a good look on you.”

Minho thinks to himself. “It is on you, though.” He freezes, realizing what he blurted out. He looks up at Jisung who, unfortunately for Minho, was smirking at him.

“Is that so, _Your Majesty?”_

Minho does the final knot on the bandage a bit too tightly before heading towards Felix, feeling his face get hot.

“So, what happened?” Chaewon asks.

Felix, who Minho now notices looked a little pale and distracted, looks to Jisung for an explanation.

Jisung looks up from his injured hand and simply shrugs. He looks directly at Hyunjin as he explains. “I’m guessing the thorn I pricked myself on had something that made me sleepy. Felix got there when I was waking up.”

Jisung and Hyunjin keep eye contact for a moment more before Jisung goes back to trying to loosen his bandage. As for Hyunjin, he turns to Felix and ruffles his hair. “Next time, don’t run off without warning.”

Felix snaps out of his daze when Chaewon harshly grabs his ear. “Listen to Hyunjin!”

“Okay, okay, okay, Chaewonnie, let me go!” Felix whines.

Chaewon lets him go to go scold Jisung next, Eric and Hyunjin following her closely.

Minho nudges Felix with his elbow, getting his attention. “I trust him now. I trust Jisung.”

“Are you sure?” Felix asks.

Minho looks at him, confused. “Weren’t you the one who wanted this? Why are you changing your mind?”

“No, no,” Felix quickly says, shaking his head. “I-It’s just, you know, you changed your mind so quickly that I was surprised.”

Minho looked at Felix carefully. The younger boy was still pale and kept glancing over at Jisung, almost as if he expected him to do something.

“Are we all good now? Should we…” Eric gestures to the large house up ahead.

Compared to the fake forest they were in before, the real place was a bit darker. It looked like Seungmin’s home was at the border of a bog, with dark green vines snaking all around the walls and roof. At the side of his house was a large garden, its bright greens and colourful flowers sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the dreary setting.

Minho pulls out his sword. “Stay behind me,” he instructs, slowly approaching the house.

Felix and Chaewon ignore him and flank either side of him, pulling out their rapiers too. Jisung, Hyunjin, and Eric take up the rear, all holding their weapons.

Without trouble, they get to the front of the house, and Minho climbs the short steps to the porch. Still holding out his sword defensively, he knocks on the front door.

An awkward silence follows and Minho knocks on the door again, no response following.

“Do you think he’s home?” Eric asks?

A voice from behind them speaks. “He was actually out buying groceries. Good job coming to that conclusion and not just continuing to knock for ten minutes like the little redhead.”

They all turn around, laying their eyes on the person standing a few feet away.

A young man dressed in heavy layers of dark green and grey clothing was smiling at them. Minho could see bits of silver hair peeking out from underneath a floppy witch’s hat. There was a bag of food on the ground next to his feet. In one hand he held an open book, and the other hand was stretched out towards them. The man mutters something under his breath and Minho feels his sword fly out of his hand.

Everyone’s weapons flew towards the man and landed at his feet, with Eric’s axe flying into the stranger’s hand. The man hoisted it on his shoulder, his smile not wavering once.

“Hello, my name is Kim Seungmin. Congratulations on getting through my death trap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> i honestly had no clue how to put seungmin's whole aesthetic into words but if you look up "dark mori girl clothing" thats basically the vibe i was going for
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Death trap? We could have died?”
> 
> Seungmin stares blankly at Eric. “That’s what death trap implies, now what do you want?”
> 
> Minho moves to the front of the group, almost stomping towards Seungmin as he walks up to the witch, not breaking eye contact. He stops a few feet away.
> 
> “Last anyone had heard from my little brother Jeongin, he was looking for you. Was he here? You mentioned a redhead.”
> 
> Seungmin doesn’t falter under Minho’s intense gaze. “And if he was?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the longest chapter ive ever written pls get this away from me here take it go

“Death trap? We could have died?”

Seungmin stares blankly at Eric. “That’s what death trap implies, now what do you want?”

Minho moves to the front of the group, almost stomping towards Seungmin as he walks up to the witch, not breaking eye contact. He stops a few feet away.

“Last anyone had heard from my little brother Jeongin, he was looking for you. Was he here? You mentioned a redhead.”

Seungmin doesn’t falter under Minho’s intense gaze. “And if he was?”

“Are you really going to have to make me pull the ‘I’m the prince’ card?”

Seungmin laughs. “My home is out of your jurisdiction, _Your Highness.”_

“First of all, it’s ‘Your Majesty.’ Second,” Jisung holds up a piece of paper. “We have a note from Changbin.”

Seungmin’s confidence disappears as he drops Eric’s axe, looking to Jisung worriedly. “Changbin? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, don’t worry.” Jisung walks up to Seungmin and hands him the note. “This is just to show that we mean no harm.”

Seungmin takes the note and reads it. Minho watches the confusion on his face clear up as he reaches the end. Seungmin looks up, smiling sheepishly at each of them.

“Sorry for the whole rude act. I needed to know who I was dealing with, but now I know.” Seungmin picks his groceries up and heads towards his door. “Come on in. We have a lot to talk about.”

The others stand in uncomfortable silence before grabbing their weapons and awkwardly shuffling inside the house, not really knowing what to say about Seungmin and his behaviour.

“At least he’s nice now,” Felix says.

“I feel like we skipped over the whole death trap thing,” Eric says in response as they step into the kitchen.

Seungmin’s home was spacious for only one resident. The walls were lined with different plants that Minho could barely recognize and bottles of liquids he would be too afraid to drink. The kitchen was very large, with one half of the room dedicated to actual cooking and the other dedicated to what Minho guessed was potion making, judging by the large cauldron, empty bottle on shelves, containers of ingredients, and bookshelf.

“The whole death trap thing is just a precaution to make sure anyone who visits me doesn’t have any ill intent,” Seungmin explains. He gestures to the dining table and everyone takes a seat.

Seungmin takes off his large hat, coat, and scarf, allowing everyone to get a better look at him. From beside him, Minho hears Felix’s breath hitch as Seungmin fixes his hair in the reflection of his mirror.

“Oh my goodness,” Chaewon whispers. “It’s happening.”

As Chaewon fixes Felix’s clothes and hair in an attempt to make her brother look better, Eric leans forward.

“Did Jeongin go through that too, or did you just let him in?”

“Hm?” Seungmin turns around and Chaewon’s hands fly off of Felix. Seungmin glances over at him, confused, before answering Eric. “I wasn’t home. Prince Jeongin went through the whole thing on his own. Unsurprisingly, he has a pure heart.”

“Looks like paying attention to my Sylvan lessons wasn’t such a bad idea after all,” Felix tells Minho.

Minho ignores Felix’s snide remark, choosing to focus on Jeongin’s trip. “So he got through, came here, and you let him in?”

“He came here, waited outside my house, I got home, he pestered me so much that I told him what he wanted to know, made him dinner, let him stay the night, and sent him off in the morning,” Seungmin lists off.

“What did he want to know?”

“I told him the name of the object he is looking for and how to get to the Ninth Realm,” he explains. “I also told him how stupid it is to expect to walk in and out of the Ninth Realm.”

“Why can you?” Eric asks.

“Queen Vivi and I made a partnership. There are things that grow here that she cannot get in her home and vice versa. We basically have a trade deal and I work directly with her right hand, Chanhee. It’s a nice deal, especially when you’re the only person in the kingdom who can make certain potions that people pay a lot for.”

“That’s so cool,” Felix blurts out.

Seungmin looks at Felix, confused. “The deal or the rare potions?”

Felix stares blankly at Seungmin, blushing hard. “Um, yes.”

There was an awkward stretch of silence before Chaewon speaks, saving everyone from the uncomfortable moment. 

“So Jeongin’s gone?”

“The prince left two days ago,” Seungmin answers. “The journey to the Ninth Realm doesn’t take long from here. He’s probably there right now if he actually followed through and went there.”

“Can you be honest?” Minho asks, his voice breaking for a moment. “What do you think is happening to him?”

Seungmin looks to the prince sadly. “There are a few possibilities. He could be wandering in the forest, which I think is the least likely. The queen would have noticed a human intentionally arriving, and she would have brought him to the court.”

“And then?”

“I didn’t let Jeongin leave without warning him of a few things,” Seungmin says. “Queen Vivi is kind and benevolent.” Jisung and the twins scoff, but let Seungmin continue. “But, when she is done wrong, there’s almost no stopping her wrath. Best case scenario, which I think is the most likely, Jeongin chooses his words very carefully, the queen denies his request, and Jeongin is stuck in the Ninth Realm as either a prisoner or a free man.”

Minho slowly nods, taking the information in. “Okay. So we go there, apologize to Queen Vivi for the mess, give her whatever compensation she wants, take Jeongin, and leave.”

“Aren’t princes supposed to be realistic? You and your brother amaze me,” Seungmin says with a laugh. “I doubt Vivi would just let you go.”

“An apology wouldn’t be enough,” Jisung interjects. “She follows the rules of the land very seriously… from what I’ve heard,” he quickly adds.

Minho scowls at Seungmin. “And what other option is there? I’m getting my brother back.”

“I just think—”

“Jeongin’s. Coming. Home.”

Seungmin shuts his mouth, avoiding Minho’s glare.

“So I guess we’re heading out?” Eric asks hesitantly.

Seungmin sighs, looking at Minho with a pitiful expression before looking at the others. “Stay here and leave in the morning. I can make lunch and dinner, I have guest rooms, and I can tell you how to get there.”

“Are you serious?” Chaewon asks.

“I didn’t stop Prince Jeongin so I might as well help his brother. Head upstairs and drop your things off. There are three extra rooms.”

“Three spare rooms? It seems like a lot for one person,” Hyunjin points out.

Seungmin shrugs. “My home doubles as a safe house for a lot of people. Fae who left home or were kicked out, nymphs with destroyed homes, newly turned werewolves.”

“Is that how you know Changbin? You helped him out?” Jisung asks.

“The idiots didn’t know what they were getting into when they decided to come to the forest at night. I stumbled upon him and two other friends who also just turned,” Seungmin explains. “It was their first full moon, and I brought them back here and gave them something to ease the pain. Ever since then, every month, Changbin would stop by to pick up more potions for him, Juyeon, and Hyunjae.”

“So you’re just this benevolent witch who picks up strays and helps them out?” Felix asks, smiling brightly. “That’s really sweet.”

“I feel like you forgot about the whole death trap thing. I feel like that’s an extremely important fact to know about who I am as a person.”

“We will continue this conversation once I no longer have to hold this.” Hyunjin shakes his bag as he stands up, heading towards the staircase with the others following.

“Are you staying the night?” Eric asks Jisung.

“I might as well,” Jisung replies.

They reach the top of the stairs and see three plain, wooden doors, with a fourth door at the end of the hall, presumably Seungmin’s.

“Well, I think Seungmin’s nice enough to trust,” Chaewon says, stopping in the hallway. “I doubt he’ll kill us in our sleep or poison our food.”

“Changbin always speaks so highly of him, and that’s enough for me,” Jisung adds.

Minho crosses his arms. “I think he’s annoying.”

“I’m sure he thinks the same about you,” Hyunjin tells him.

“Well, I think he’s cool,” Felix says.

“Of course you do,” Eric mutters. “Anyway, rooms.”

Chaewon doesn’t say a word as she grabs Felix and drags him into one of the rooms. Just before he disappears behind the door, Felix points at Minho, looks to Hyunjin and Eric, and starts shaking his head.

“What was that about?” Minho asks.

Eric shrugs as he grabs Hyunjin’s sleeve. “Beats me. Let’s go, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin happily follows Eric into the second room, leaving Jisung and Minho alone in the hallway.

“After you, Your Majesty.” Jisung does a deep bow as he opens the door to the third room. Minho quietly laughs as he enters the room, but his laughter disappears when he seems the one large bed in the room.

Jisung stands up properly and enters, pausing when he sees the bed. He turns to Minho with wide eyes. “I think I saw a couch downstairs. I can—”

“No, no, no,” Minho interjects. “You can take the bed, I can—”

Their voices get higher and more panicked as they went back and forth.

“You really don’t have to.”

“But I’m insisting.”

“I’ve slept on couches before it’s not uncomfortable—”

“Oh, perfect! So I won’t be uncomfortable when I—”

“Just take the bed.”

 _“You_ take the bed—”

“OH MY GOD JUST SHARE THE BED!” Eric screams through the wall.

Jisung and Minho look from the bed to each other.

“I mean, we’ve slept in the same cart before.”

“Yeah,” Minho agrees. “No difference there. Just two… pals.”

“I’m going to…” Jisung points to the door. “You can change while I search for the bathroom.”

“Alright, okay.” Minho gives Jisung a thumbs-up and an attempt at a smile as he leaves. Once Jisung is gone, Minho bites his fist and grimaces.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

After some much needed showers and a change of clothes, the six come back downstairs to see Seungmin putting some vegetables on his counter, preparing to cook.

“Well, you all look refreshed,” he says. “Do any of you mind helping me with lunch? I’m not used to cooking for seven.”

Before anyone could reply, Felix steps forward. “I can help,” he blurts out, not realizing what he signed up for.

Minho’s eyes widen as he looks from Chaewon to Hyunjin to Eric, and all of them had the same fearful expression he had on his face. Chaewon was right, Seungmin isn’t going to poison them, Felix will.

Chaewon steps forward to interject, but Jisung beats her to it.

“I’ll help too. I’ve got to talk Seungmin anyway.”

 _“Oh yeah,”_ Minho thinks. _“I forgot that’s why he came with us.”_

Minho couldn’t help but wish he beat Felix to volunteering to help. Not only would their food be edible, but he would also have a chance at knowing what Jisung wanted.

“Perfect!” Seungmin turns to Felix, smiling brightly. “Ready to help us?”

Felix smiles, although Minho couldn’t really tell considering the nervous laughter, and looks at Jisung and Seungmin. 

Seungmin doesn’t wait for a reply before turning to the others. “The rest of you can explore outside. I’ll call you guys in when the food is ready.”

Minho, Eric, Hyunjin, and Chaewon exit the kitchen and head towards the front door. Minho looks back at Felix once more, who was whispering to Jisung and looking as red as a strawberry.

“Is Felix okay?” Minho asks.

“He just gets like that around pretty boys,” Chaewon answers.

Minho watches Felix continue to whisper to Jisung frantically. “He’s been fine with Jisung until now though. What changed?”

Minho looks to Chaewon, who stops walking and just stares at him blankly. “You are so stupid sometimes.”

She brushes past him and heads outside, heading towards the bog. “I want to search for frogs. Anyone but Minho is invited.”

“Coming!” Eric rushes down the porch steps and catches up to her, leaving Hyunjin and Minho alone on Seungmin’s porch.

Hyunjin takes a seat on one of the steps, patting the empty space next to him. Minho sits.

“We’re getting closer,” Hyunjin says sadly. “I hope we find him soon.”

“How are you feeling?” Minho asks, looking at Hyunjin’s somber expression. “You’ve all been concerned with my parents and I these past few days that I regret not checking on you until now.”

Hyunjin chuckles softly. “Don’t work yourself up over it. Jeongin’s your entire world, of course I’d worry about you.”

He lets out a heavy sigh. “I feel a lot better than before. We know where he is and we have a shot at getting him back, even if it’s low. Do you remember what you said the night after we discovered he was gone?”

“I said a lot of things, most of which shouldn’t be repeated considering how angry I was.”

“You said you’d find him even if it kills you. A bit dramatic for my taste, but we all share the same sentiment, so that comforts me knowing that we would never quit until he’s back in our arms.”

Minho watches Hyunjin gaze up at the sky, smiling softly at the clouds above them. Minho sits in silence with him, admiring the view until he is reminded of something. He reaches over and grabs Hyunjin’s hand, lifting it up to his face. Unsurprisingly, the familiar, cloud patterned ring that is always on his pinky was there, and Minho would not be surprised if Jeongin was wearing his matching ring when he left.

After one of their many trips into the village years ago, Hyunjin and Jeongin came back to the castle gushing about a new jewelry shop that had opened, showing off their matching set of rings that they had bought.

“You’ve always been one of his favourites,” Minho mutters.

Hyunjin laughs. “I think Felix is his favourite if we’re being honest.”

“You’ve always been different to us though,” Minho explains, still holding onto his hand. “Maybe it’s because you’ve been stuck in the same playpen as us since you were born, but you’re like a brother to us too. I don’t want you to forget that.”

“Minho, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me in the twenty years I’ve known you.”

Minho drops Hyunjin’s hand. “I can be nice.”

Hyunjin’s pinches Minho’s cheek, much to his displeasure. “You _are_ nice, you just show it differently. I can only imagine just how many random gifts or favours you’ve done for all of us without asking. Jisung’s probably going to fall victim to your stupidly big heart next.”

Minho bats his hand away. “What is it with Jisung and I that you guys keep hinting at? Am I missing something?”

“Chaewon’s right. You really are stupid sometimes if you can’t even tell what we’re all getting at.”

“What are you all—”

Hyunjin turns his body to face Minho. “Where does your intrigue with Jisung end and the fascination begin, Minho? There’s a fine line between infatuation and attraction and everyone seems to know what side you’re on except for you.”

Minho opens his mouth to argue back, only to quickly close it, not knowing how to respond.

Jisung is great, Jisung is reliable. Jisung is someone Minho made sure was always closeby, but it was to make sure he wasn’t up to something, but that reasoning is far too outdated. Everyone likes Jisung, so everyone would act like Minho, right? Everyone would be as invested in Jisung as him, right?

“Fuck.”

“Look, we’ll work it out together.” Hyunjin takes Minho’s hands. “Close your eyes and imagine Jisung in front of you.”

Minho shuts his eyes and thinks of Jisung from yesterday morning when they were playing their question game.

“Tomorrow morning, Jisung is leaving. Do you want him to?” Hyunjin asks.

“No,” Minho quickly answers. “I like having him around.”

“Why? Just say everything that comes to mind, and keep imagining him.”

“He’s just…” Minho takes a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. “First it was when you and Eric were riding and the two of us were talking in the cart. I was too antsy to sleep so he played a game with me to tire me out and that was really nice and I didn’t understand why he would do that, especially since we met hours beforehand. Then it was when he pushed me out of the way of the arrow.”

Minho felt Hyunjin’s grip tighten as he continued. “I know I can rely on the rest of you in a heartbeat, but it felt different with him after the talk in the cart and knowing he took such a risk for someone he barely knew. It felt like he had my back after that and I just felt safer throughout the rest of the trip knowing that if we were attacked again, he’d protect me and maybe next time, I would protect him too.”

“Alright, now can you just tell me what you like about him?” Hyunjin asks.

The words start spilling out before Minho could give it a single thought.

“Well, I like that he’s kind, and I like that he’s really easy to talk to, almost as if I’ve known him forever. He makes a lot of jokes that are kind of dumb, but I still laugh at them because I think they’re funny. He’s always interested in what I have to say and that makes me happy. He also has this habit of talking with his hands. The more excited about the story he gets, the bigger the gestures are.”

The more Minho spoke, the more the image of Jisung in his mind matched what he was saying.

“I also like the sound of his laugh and how his cheeks get even more full than usual when he smiles. Or when something catches his attention and his eyes sparkle and go wide.”

“And if he tells you it looks like the stars were pulled from the sky and put into your eyes, how would you feel?”

Minho couldn’t help but visualize Jisung telling him that. He pulls his hands away from Hyunjin’s to cover his face, and he finally realizes just how hot it was.

Hyunjin falls on his back cackling. “You’re so red right now over one imaginary compliment! I can’t believe you were bottling all these feelings up. You should’ve seen the dopey smile on your face while you talked.”

Minho pouts, still hiding behind his hands. “Fine, I get it! I’m not just super suspicious of him.”

“And now, I will ask you one more question. Do you, Prince Lee Minho of Levanter, like Han Jisung?”

Minho opens his mouth to say yes, but one nagging thought stops him.

“I… I would like to.”

Hyunjin moves Minho’s hands away from his face, looking concerned. “You would like to?”

“Look.” Minho lets out a frustrated sigh as he stands up. “I know you’re going to say I’m using this as an excuse and I swear I’m not, but the fact that he’s holding something back keeps making me hesitant about him.”

Hyunjin doesn’t bother to hide the annoyance on his face as he stands up too. “Okay, maybe he is holding back, but maybe he’s holding back because he’s afraid and needs someone by his side. Maybe you’re holding back too.”

“I’m not holding back, I’m being realistic,” Minho says bitterly.

“And what good is that doing for you? Have you noticed what you’re like around him? You’re so disgustingly happy when you’re talking to him like you guys are in your own world. Why won’t you let yourself have this one good thing?”

“Because I can’t afford to right now, Hyunjin!” Minho snaps. His eyes well up as he continues. “My land is dying, my baby brother ran off without telling me because he doesn’t trust me or thinks I believe in him and he’s probably a prisoner in a place that caused Chaewon, Felix, and Chan to all flee, and after talking with Seungmin, I’m terrified of what comes next.”

Hyunjin takes a small step forward, and then another. Slowly, he approaches Minho and wraps his arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

“Minho, why didn’t you tell any of us?” Hyunjin whispers. “None of us would’ve been upset.”

Minho mutters into Hyunjin’s shoulder. “I love you, and I love Eric, Chaewon, and Felix, but I already have you guys travelling with me. I can’t keep burdening you all when you could be living a stress-free life.”

Hyunjin pulls away from Minho and looks directly into his eyes, where tears were slowly falling. “I could have told my parents that I want to stop visiting the castle, but I didn’t. Eric could have continued to avoid you and Jeongin, but he didn’t. Chaewon and Felix could have left the castle in the middle of the night at any point for the past ten years, but they didn’t. You’re acting like we’ve been forced to deal with you and your problems ever since we met. We may work for you, but you’re our friend before our future king. We’re not afraid to tell you when we’re not doing okay, and you haven’t either, so please don’t start hesitating now.”

Minho silently nods as he wipes his tears away.

“You still feel bad though, don’t you?” Hyunjin asks, and Minho gives him a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry,” Minho mutters.

“Don’t apologize. You should still talk, but maybe you just need a new perspective. This is your biggest problem ever, so I get being reluctant to tell us. I’m sorry for pushing you to talk.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Minho says. “Besides, it was nice to let it all out.”

The front door creaks open next to them, and they turn to see Jisung, with his bag over his shoulder, stepping outside.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting, but I can’t be in there for another second,” Jisung says. “After I talked with Seungmin, I think he figured out that Felix thinks he’s cute because now they're flirting with each other.”

“Felix can flirt? I owe Eric ten gold,” Hyunjin says.

“Is it okay if I hide out here or are you guys in the middle of something?” Jisung asks, looking at Minho’s glassy eyes.

Before Minho could say a word, Hyunjin leaps off the porch, waving goodbye to the two. “I’m going to go find Chaewon and Eric! Bye!”

Jisung cheerfully waves goodbye while Minho sticks his middle finger up.

“I actually have something to give you,” Jisung says to Minho. From his front pocket, he pulls out the red flower from Seungmin’s puzzle and holds it out. “Seungmin clipped off the thorns and dipped it in this weird smelling potion that got rid of the sleepy poison thingy, so don’t worry about getting knocked out.”

“Oh.” Minho whispers, not trusting himself to say anything more, gently takes the flower from Jisung.

“Is this weird? I’m sorry, I thought it would be nice and—”

“No, no, no, it’s okay,” Minho quickly says. “I’m just surprised considering you got knocked out in order to get it.”

Jisung takes the flower from his hand and tucks it behind Minho’s ear. “It was worth it. It looks nice with the blue hair.”

“Thanks,” Minho answers. He looks around the front yard awkwardly before looking at the large garden by the side of the house. “Do you want to see Seungmin’s garden? Maybe you’ll find another flower you like.”

Jisung could barely contain his excitement as he skipped down the porch steps and headed to the side of the house, Minho following close behind.

 _“You can do this,”_ Minho thinks to himself. _“Hyunjin may have abandoned you, but you don’t need him. Jisung is still a nice loser that you can talk to normally.”_

Seungmin’s garden is, in the simplest terms, breathtaking. Minho thought he would be prepared to see it, but the garden back at the castle was nothing compared to what he was looking at right now.

It was vibrant, with flowers of every colour and shade under the sun all over the place. Neatly trimmed hedges up to their waists served as a wall surrounding the garden, making the colours stand out even more. Minho’s eyes lingered on one section of the garden, where strange, silver flowers grew, with a sparkling mist coming out of it. In the centre of the garden was a large, white fountain with lily pads floating on the water and frogs resting peacefully.

Jisung was speechless as he took in the sights around him, his eyes wide like a curious and excited child in a candy shop. Every few seconds he would turn to look at a different spot in the garden, taking everything in.

“I think this is heaven,” Jisung whispers.

“It definitely doesn’t feel real,” Minho replies. He walks over to the fountain and sits down on the edge. Jisung follows, sitting down next to him.

“Are you alright?” Jisung asks. “I don’t mean to pry, but you look like shit again.”

“Thanks for the honesty,” Minho mutters.

He remembers what Hyunjin told him just before he left. _“Maybe you just need a new perspective.”_ Maybe the new perspective was sitting right next to him.

“I’m just very, _very,_ worried about what comes next,” Minho explains. “I keep saying we’re going to get Jeongin back, but after talking with Seungmin, I can’t ignore the possibility that something could go wrong.”

“Hm.” Jisung thinks to himself for a moment before speaking. “What were you and Jeongin doing the day before he left?”

Minho looks at him, confused. “Pardon?”

“Just answer. It’ll lead to something, I swear.”

Minho hesitantly answers. “We didn’t spend the morning together since I had to work, but we went to the big marketplace in the village in the afternoon. We bought a few things and just walked around until sunset. He was really excited to pay for both my food and his. After that, we went home and he hung out with Felix.”

“And nothing was suspicious? You had no idea he was going to leave?” Jisung asks.

“Not at all,” Minho replies wearily. “It was a completely normal day.”

That day continues to haunt Minho. He would continuously repeat the events in his head, trying to find one thing off about Jeongin, one sign of his eventual departure, but there was nothing. Jeongin acted just as he would any other day.

“If you couldn’t have predicted Jeongin leaving, then don’t expect to predict what happens next,” Jisung says. “You’re not a fortune teller, just a worried brother.”

“You heard everyone. Once you go in, you can’t leave without the queen’s permission. What if we can’t get Jeongin?”

“But what if you do? Who knows, maybe you’ll be one of the few people who are allowed to leave. You can never know what is going to happen.” Jisung puts his hand on Minho’s. “Worrying is only going to hinder you.”

Minho smiles at Jisung. “Thank you, Jisung.”

Instead of his usual bright smile, Jisung gives Minho a much gentler look, a soft smile on his face. “Anything for you.”

“You and Jeongin have the same weird practicality about life. I can’t wait for you to meet.”

Jisung’s smile fades once Minho says that, and he looks almost regretful as he looks away from Minho.

“I have.”

Minho’s voice squeaks. “Excuse me?”

Jisung rubs the back of his neck nervously. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I was coming because I couldn’t sit still knowing your brother is missing. I just left out a little bit of information.”

“So you know each other?”

“We’ve met once. Let me explain.” Jisung turns his body to face Minho completely, sitting cross-legged on the fountain’s edge. He raised his hands, ready to gesture wildly as he begins to tell his tale.

“I was around 12 when it happened. I was new to the village and just started living under the bakery. There was one kid there named Yerim that I became fast friends with. One day, I was walking around the marketplace and saw someone selling toys of different animals. She really likes bats, and there was one there, so I decided to try and swipe one for Yerim. The seller saw me and I ran away, but he chased me. I ran through a group of royal guards who were freaking out and hid in an alley.”

Jisung pauses and smiles fondly, remembering exactly what happened that day. “That’s when I met your brother.”

* * *

Jisung freezes as he makes eye contact with the prince.

“What are you doing here?” he blurts out.

“I was walking around and thought this was a shortcut. I’m Jeongin!” Jeongin sticks his hand out for a handshake.

Jisung nervously shakes his hand. “I’m Jisung.”

“Why are you here?” Jeongin asks.

“Oh, um…” Jisung hesitates, weighing his options. Jeongin seemed nice, but he was also the prince, meaning he could rat on him.

“I’m just looking for a shortcut too,” he finally says.

“That’s cool!” Jeongin replies. He looks at the toy Jisung was hugging. “I like your bat! I got a toy today too!”

Jisung then finally notices the toy in Jeongin’s hand. He lifts the stuffed fox up to Jisung’s face, and he recognizes it as one of the many toys at the cart he stole from.

Jisung couldn’t help but smile at Jeongin’s antics. “That’s a cool fox. The bat is for my friend since it’s her favourite animal.”

Jeongin lowers the fox to look Jisung in the eyes. “Do you not have a toy then?”

“I don’t. I could only take— I mean _get_ one.”

Jeongin pouts at him. He looks towards the entrance of the alley and down to his toy before holding it out to Jisung. “Here, take mine.”

Jisung takes a step back, hitting the wall behind him. He shakes his head at the prince. “No, no, no, it’s okay. I can’t keep that, it’s yours.”

Jeongin takes a step forward. “If you feel bad keeping it, we can share. Take the toy and return it to me next time you see me.”

Jeongin hands the fox over once more and this time, Jisung slowly takes it. Before he could thank him, a shout interrupts him.

“Prince Jeongin?”

Jisung hides behind a trash can just as three guards come running towards Jeongin.

“We told you not to run off on your own,” one of them says.

“I was trying to find a shortcut,” Jeongin explains.

“Well, you can try and find it with us around,” another guard says.

“While you were here, did you see a small, blonde boy holding a toy anywhere?” the third asks.

“I did!”

Jisung’s breath hitches as he freezes.

“He saw me, turned around, and ran away back to the marketplace,” Jeongin finishes.

Jisung quietly sighs in relief as Jeongin and the guards leave. He looks down at the fox toy in his hands, wondering.

“How am I supposed to return this?”

* * *

“He saved my ass, so I owe it to him to at least help save his,” Jisung says. “Plus, I need to make sure he gets this back.”

Jisung reaches into the bag by his side and pulls out a worn-out toy, and Minho’s heart stops once he recognizes the animal.

“You brought it with you?” Minho asks.

“I always carry it with me if I travel. It’s like a good luck charm,” Jisung replies. “I’m sorry for sort of lying before.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just…” Minho trails off as Jisung passes the plush to him. He laughs to himself. “Of course he’d try and befriend some stranger in an alley. Of course.”

“I’m trusting you to give that to him once you get him,” Jisung tells him. “Not to be dramatic, but I am not above killing a prince.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Minho replies.

He continues to stare at the toy in his hand, a dopey grin on his face. There was something about the fact that the two have met before that made him inexplicably happy, and only made him more excited for them to meet.

They sat in comfortable silence, content with mindlessly watching the frogs in the fountain until Felix walks into the entrance.

“Lunch is ready,” he says. He looks between Minho, who had a flower in his hair and was clutching a toy, to Jisung, who had stuck his hand in the water to try and catch a frog.

“Oh no,” Minho whispers. He looks up to Felix with a strained smile. “We’ll be there in a second.”

The moment Felix is out of sight, presumably to find the others, Minho whirls on Jisung. “Start praying that Seungmin did most of the cooking.”

“Is Felix not good in the kitchen?” Jisung asks.

“There’s a painting of him in the castle’s kitchen so new cooks know not to let him in after what happened last time.”

“What could he have possibly done?”

Minho puts a finger to his lips. “You have your piano incident, I have my kitchen incident.”

Jisung laughs as he stands up. “Ready to eat?”

Minho stands and the two walk towards the garden’s exit, but a flash of colour causes Minho to stop and grab Jisung’s wrist.

“Hold on.”

Minho goes to one of the flower beds and carefully picks a flower, trying not to disturb the other ones. He walks back to Jisung and tucks it behind his ear.

“There we go. Mint’s my favourite colour.”

Jisung brings a hand up to the flower and blushes. “Now we match. Cute.”

They come back to Seungmin’s house and enter, heading straight for the dining room. Seungmin was there and standing by the table, waiting for everyone to arrive.

The witch looks at Jisung’s head and frowns. “Is that from my garden?”

“No,” Minho lies. “Not every flower comes from you.”

Seungmin glares as Minho, but his face immediately brightens up once he hears the front door open.

“Felix, did you find everyone?”

Felix enters the dining room, smiling back at Seungmin as Hyunjin, Chaewon, and Eric follow. “I did!”

“In that case, everyone please take a seat.”

Minho sits and places the toy on his lap. He stares suspiciously at the food. Nothing looked burnt, and there was no weird smell, but he couldn’t let his guard down.

“I made the soup. It’s a new recipe, so tell me what you think,” Seungmin says. He mutters something under his breath and waves his hand. Seven bowls of soup rise from the centre of the table and land in front of each person.

A wave of relief hits Minho. If Seungmin made it, then it was safe it eat. Minho takes a spoon and carefully sips the soup.

The moment it hits his tongue, he freezes. Instead of something actually edible, it tasted like someone dumped a tablespoon of salt into his mouth. It takes everything in his willpower to not spit it out, and judging by the expressions of everyone else, they were doing the exact same thing. It looked like only Seungmin and Felix had no problem with the soup.

“So did you make anything else?” Hyunjin squeaks out. He reaches over for a glass of water and downs it all in one go.

“Felix and I made the chicken,” Seungmin responded, confirming everyone’s worst nightmares.

Looks like Seungmin was going to poison them after all.

While the two chefs continued to eat in peace, Chaewon looked around the table at everyone and mouths to them.

 _“Eat Felix’s food!”_ She drags a finger across her throat for emphasis.

It was either suffer for an hour or make Felix sad, and the second option was a fate worse than death.

It was a tiring hour, but everyone manages to finish their lunch without any incident, lethal or otherwise.

Jisung stood up and began collecting the plates, looking to Seungmin. “How about I make dinner with Hyunjin later? You and Felix deserve a nice break.”

Seungmin shakes his head. “You guys are guests, I can’t let you—”

Hyunjin stands with a shout. “We insist! How about you tell us more of your amazing stories and when it’s the time for Jisung and I head to the kitchen, you give the others a tour of your place.”

“Well if you guys insist,” Seungmin says. He stands and mutters a new incantation. Immediately, all the dishes, including the ones from Jisung’s hands, all float into the kitchen, where the cleaning supplies began to fly and clean the dishes on their own.

Seungmin claps his hands excitedly and turns to Jisung with an almost sinister smile. “I have so many embarrassing stories about Changbin. Let’s go to the living room.”

Everyone scatters and lounges across the different seats, except for Jisung that is. The couch Minho sits on was large, but made for only one person, but that didn’t stop Jisung from squeezing in next to Minho, sitting so close that they were pressed against each other’s side.

Jisung’s hand rests on Minho’s knee as he looks to Seungmin excitedly. “So? Tell me about Changbin.”

Minho leans back and holds the fox toy, letting Seungmin’s story become background noise as he watches Jisung’s face light up.

* * *

Dinner ended with much more tolerable food, and Minho and Jisung find themselves back in their room, ready to turn in early for the night.

They lie down, and it’s awkward. _Very_ awkward.

They’re both stiff as a board and lying on their backs, refusing to look at each other. The only saving grace was that they decided not to place themselves at either end on the bed and risk falling off in their sleep.

Minho decides to break the silence, asking something that had been haunting him that evening.

“Can you say bye to us in the morning?” Minho whispers.

“What?” Jisung asks.

Minho cringes at his own request. “If you wake up before everyone, I don’t want you to just leave.”

That causes Jisung to turn and face Minho in bed. “You don’t need to worry, Your Majesty. You’re stuck with me, remember? That means you’ll be stuck with me until the very last second.”

Minho finally turns to face Jisung, and is briefly taken aback by how close their faces are. He looks at him sternly. “You keep making it sound like travelling with you was a bad thing.”

“Was it?” Jisung whispers. “After that fight, I told you I’d make your time with me worthwhile, so did I?”

Jisung’s hand was resting in between their faces, and Minho gently places his on top of Jisung’s.

“This is a strange sentence to say, but I think I’m glad you broke into my brother’s room that night.”

Jisung giggles to himself, squeezing Minho’s hand. “This was a good last day together. I can’t wait for you to get back so we can do something like this again.”

“I’m excited too. Goodnight, Jisung.”

“Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

* * *

Minho wakes up the next morning next to a still sleeping Jisung, their hands in the same place they were before they fell asleep.

The sunlight streaming from the window hit Jisung’s blonde hair perfectly, making him look like an angel.

The moment was still, beautiful, and serene, and Minho only had one thought in his head.

He didn’t want Jisung to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho: ive only had jisung for two days but if anything were to happen to him i will kill everyone in this room and then myself
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho stops his pacing to stare at the fox toy sitting on his nightstand.
> 
> “Should I even ask him?” he asks. “What are the odds he’ll even agree?”
> 
> Unsurprisingly, the doll does not respond.
> 
> “You’re right,” Minho says. “Jisung will be so shocked I would ever ask something like that that he will be left speechless. I shouldn’t ask him.”
> 
> “Shouldn’t ask me what?”
> 
> Minho yelps and whips around, making eye contact with Jisung, who was leaning against the doorframe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ IF YOU’RE TRIGGERED BY TEMPORARY CHARACTER DEATH: this occurs at the end of the chapter and in the end notes i’ll put a brief description of what happens if you wish to skip over it. If you do want to skip it, stop reading once Vivi says she needs to test something

Minho wasn’t sure how to approach the topic with Jisung.

He continues to pace in their room, waiting for Jisung to finish changing and come back so he could ask him to fulfill his one selfish wish.

For him to stay with them.

He couldn’t just flat out ask him to stay, right? That would be too rude, not to mention he got what he needed from Seungmin and has to go back to work. He couldn’t keep a man from his job, right? He has no reason to stay.

Minho stops his pacing to stare at the fox toy sitting on his nightstand.

“Should I even ask him?” he asks. “What are the odds he’ll even agree?”

Unsurprisingly, the doll does not respond.

“You’re right,” Minho says. “Jisung will be so shocked I would ever ask something like that that he will be left speechless. I shouldn’t ask him.”

“Shouldn’t ask me what?”

Minho yelps and whips around, making eye contact with Jisung, who was leaning against the doorframe.

“Nothing,” he answers quickly.

Jisung stares at him for a moment before shrugging and entering the room. He flops down on the bed dramatically, putting a hand to his forehead like a scandalized maiden. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to live with the haunting curiosity of what you wish to tell me. Every time I look at you now I will simply be reminded of this moment and how you were driven so mad with doubt that you started talking to inanimate objects.”

The pressure and anxiety built up in Minho as Jisung spoke and before he knew it, he exploded.

“Come with me to the Ninth Realm!”

Jisung sits up, his comedy act now replaced with a stunned expression. “Pardon?”

“You don’t have to, obviously, but I’d like it if you did.” Minho breaks eye contact with him, preferring to look at the floor. “I’m springing this on you the morning we’re leaving and you probably have to go to work or maybe we’re still strangers to you—”

Minho cuts himself off when he feels Jisung’s hands on his shoulders. There’s an almost urgent look on his face, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“You said ‘Come with _me_ to the Ninth Realm.’” Jisung’s hands slide down to Minho’s elbows and he squeezes tightly. “Do _you_ want me to come?”

Minho finally looks up at Jisung and nods. “Yes, I… _I_ do.”

He steps back and grabs the fox toy from the nightstand and hands it to Jisung. “Besides, you’re the one who should give it back, not me.”

A small smile grows on Jisung’s face as he takes the toy. “Well, in that case, I’d love to join you.”

They pack up their things and head downstairs, where Hyunjin was putting breakfast down at the table.

“Heading out soon?” Eric asks Jisung as they sit down.

“Actually, I’m coming with you guys,” Jisung replies.

Eric’s face breaks out into a big smile. “That’s great! Now we have two more people coming!”

“Two?”

Seungmin raises a hand from across the table. “Felix and I talked, and we both figured it might be easier to convince Queen Vivi if I was there.”

Minho slowly turned his head to look at Felix with a blank expression. He slowly blinks at him. “Is that so?”

Felix does an attempt at a smile towards Minho, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. Instead, he directs his attention towards Jisung. “So, you changed your mind about going there lat—”

He gets cut off as Hyunjin not so subtly hits Felix’s head with his elbow as he walks by. At the same time, the cup of water in front of him shakes and erupts, spraying water all over Felix’s face.

“Oops,” both Hyunjin and Seungmin say.

Minho looks to Chaewon and Eric, who looks just as confused as he was.

Seungmin leans over with a towel to wipe Felix’s face. “As I was saying, if I’m there, it’ll be easier to get a civil audience with the queen. Vouching for you will make everything easier.”

“Oh, well thank you,” Minho says slowly. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to repay you.”

“I have a list,” Seungmin replies, not sparing Minho a glance as he continues to dry off Felix.

“Of course you do,” Minho mutters.

Breakfast continues without any more incidents, and Seungmin leads the group towards the forest by his home, where the horses and cart were waiting.

“I woke up early to grab them,” Seungmin explains. “There’s no way in hell I’m riding, though. One of them tried to bite me.”

“That means you put her in a bad mood,” Eric says, approaching Dorte. He gently pets her as he spoke to her. “Did Seungmin bother you?”

Eric puts his ear up to the horse. “He did? And he deserved to be bitten? What a bad witch.”

“I’ll join you, Eric,” Chaewon says, putting her bag in the cart and heading towards the other horse.

As Jisung, Felix, and Seungmin climb into the cart, Hyunjin stops Minho and whispers into his ear.

“Jisung is staying and you now know you have a crush on him. Do you know what this means?”

“No?” Minho replies.

“It’s time to turn on your charm, idiot. You wink at people as casually as others shake hands and now you see some dummy with a knife and decide to malfunction?”

“It’s unintentional!” Minho hisses. “And when it isn’t, I don’t mean it like _that._ It’s just funny.”

Hyunjin pats him on the back a bit too hard. “Well, now you do.”

Hyunjin sits beside Felix, with Seungmin on the fae’s other side. Minho walks up to the cart and sees Jisung stretching his hand out to help him up. This time, Minho takes his hand. As he’s pulled up, he makes eye contact with Hyunjin, who was looking at him expectedly.

_“Screw it. Why not?”_

Once he’s in the cart, he squeezes Jisung’s hand and winks. “Thanks, Jisung.”

To his surprise, Jisung doesn’t reply with a witty comeback or flirtatious remark. Instead, his cheeks were turning very pink, very fast.

Thankfully, Chaewon manages to save Jisung from further embarrassment.

“You guys all settled in?” she asks.

“We’re good to go,” Seungmin replies. “Just stick to the path and I’ll tell you when to make your turns.”

As the cart starts moving, Seungmin looks at Minho. “Look, I know you’re the guy in charge and whatever, but you’re going to have to let me do all the talking when we get there.”

Minho looks at him blankly. “Are you seriously asking me to stand there and stay silent about Jeongin?”

“More like demanding, but at least you get the point.”

“This involves me, I’m not staying silent.”

Seungmin scoffs. “Then have fun being locked up with your brother and getting your friends arrested too. I’m sure that’ll do wonders for your conscience.”

“Can you not doubt that I’m actually competent?” Minho says, his voice slowly rising.

“I’m not saying you’re incompetent, I’m saying you have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“I wouldn’t be fighting to talk if I didn’t know what I was dealing with.”

That’s when Seungmin finally snaps. “Look, your brother asked me to make sure you don’t get killed, so if you could cooperate on this one simple request, it’ll make our lives a lot easier.”

Everyone froze, realizing what Seungmin accidentally blurted out. Seungmin lifts a hand to his mouth in shock.

Minho speaks again, this time in a low and fragile voice. “What did Jeongin ask you?”

Seungmin lowers his hand and keeps his eyes on the ground, not wanting to look up at Minho.

“He talked about you a lot,” he explains. “He felt bad about not leaving a note or anything, but he said it was to make sure you had no way to follow him. Before he left, he asked me that on the off chance that you find your way to me, I make sure you stay safe. He loves you. A lot.”

Seungmin finally looks up at Minho, and Minho sees a hint of guilt in his eyes.

“I know I’m irritating, but just trust me on this one thing, if not for me then for your brother.”

“You’re not irritating,” Minho mutters. “I’m being stubborn.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Minho kicks Seungmin’s leg, not putting any strength behind the hit. “I’ll stay quiet.”

“I just need you to be silent in the beginning,” Seungmin says. “If you find a good moment to talk, then go ahead.”

 _“If_ the queen even lets you talk that is,” Chaewon says.

Minho sees Felix nods, and a realization hits him.

“Felix, Chaewon, will you be able to enter the Ninth Realm?”

There is a stretch of silence before Felix replies solemnly. “That is… a good question.”

“You don’t know!?” Eric nearly shrieks.

“Yet!” Chaewon says. “We don’t know _yet.”_

“The rules aren’t that clear on if we physically can’t go back or if we’ll just get kicked out once we enter.” Felix shrugs. “I’ve never seen someone actually try and come back so…”

Hyunjin, who remained silent up now, speaks up hesitantly. “If you are able to enter, do you even want to?”

Chaewon turns to look at him as Felix scratches the back of his neck nervously.

“We don’t know why you left, so if you don’t want to go in, it’s okay, right?” Hyunjin looks to Minho.

“Of course it’s okay,” Minho quickly says.

“I don’t know about Felix, but—”

Chaewon is cut off by her brother. “I’m coming,” he says sternly.

She looks at him in shock. “Are you serious?”

“I am. I…” Felix looks at Jisung earnestly, and a silent conversation passes between the two before Felix continues. “I want to see this through.”

“Well if you’re going then so am I,” Chaewon says.

“We’ve got your back,” Jisung says. He lifts his arms up and flexes. “Nothing can get past me.”

Hyunjin leans over and pushes Jisung, knocking him over.

“He just got past you,” Eric points out.

“Just ride, Eric!” Jisung shouts.

“Won’t you get in trouble for returning, though?” Minho asks.

“Probably, but you’ll back us up, right?” Felix asks Seungmin, putting a hand on his knee.

Seungmin blushes, looking from Felix’s hand to his face. “O-of course I will.”

 _“Is this what I look like?”_ Minho mouths to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin, the poor middle man, just sadly nods.

“Look like what?” Jisung’s asks.

Minho somehow forgot he was next to him.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re talking about when I talk to you, then yes, you do look like that, and it’s very cute.”

Minho’s face flushes and he feels his heartbeat speed up. His eyes widen as Jisung giggles and points to his face.

“Just like that! Adorable!”

Hyunjin turns to face Chaewon and Eric. “Get me out of here.”

“There’s a reason we’re hiding up here,” Eric replies. “You’re on your own.”

The two face the front and focus on riding and talking to each other, leaving Hyunjin alone as the cart’s fifth wheel.

“So did Jeongin say anything else?” Hyunjin asks, hoping to change the subject.

“He said if Prince Minho ended up finding me, he wouldn’t be alone,” Seungmin answers. “He mentioned each of your names, except for you.” He points at Jisung.

“Oh I’m a last minute addition,” Jisung explains. “I met everyone the night before we left.”

“Really? I figured you all knew each other previously. You seem…” His eyes flicker over to Minho. “Close.”

Felix smiles proudly. “Minho and Jisung instantly clicked.”

“You warm up to him fast,” is all Minho adds.

“You get no choice when he breaks into the palace and forces himself to join,” Hyunjin adds.

Jisung lets out an offended gasp. “You could’ve said no.”

Hyunjin lowers his voice. “Eric agreed before any of us could say anything! You think I’m going to say no to him?”

They all look up to see him laughing at something Chaewon said, looking as bright and energetic as always.

“Okay, I see your point, but it was for the best, right? You all like me now!”

“And I will be forced to live with that character flaw for the rest of my life.”

Minho leans back against the cart as he listens to the conversation between the four, occasionally jumping in to add something. He was content with being an observer for now if it meant he could listen to one of Jisung’s excited rants.

At some point his weight shifts from leaning against the cart to leaning against Jisung, but if anyone noticed, they stayed quiet, letting Minho enjoy a moment of peace before everything would inevitably go wrong.

* * *

“Stop the cart.”

Eric and Chaewon stop at Seungmin’s words, pulling the cart over to the side of the trail.

Seungmin hops out of the cart and stands in the middle of the pathway, facing the trees. He reaches into one of the many pouches on his belt and pulls his hand out, which is now coated in silver powder. He lifts his hand and draws a symbol in the air Minho doesn’t recognize in the air before blowing on it. The symbol turns to mist as it travels into the forest.

Seungmin turns around and sees everyone staring at him. “Well? Get your things and come here. One of them will show up soon enough.”

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect this to be the way you gain entry,” Felix says.

Seungmin shrugs. “It makes things easier if I’m constantly watched before I even enter.”

“What did you do?” Hyunjin asks.

“It was a spell to let them know I’m here. Once they get it, they send one of the forest faes and— well, actually, you’re about to see.”

Seungmin gestures to the forest in front of them as the trees begin moving and twisting. They bend into each other to form an archway that seems to look like it leads to nothing. From the nothingness, a tall figure steps forward.

His sharp facial features and ears immediately gave away the fact that he was a fae, but unlike Chaewon or Felix, his skin had a faint green tint to it. As Minho took a closer look at him, he could see plants ranging from flowers to mushrooms to simple grass peeking out from under his shirt. Looking at the side of his neck, he realizes that the plants are not tucked under his shirt, but instead growing from him, judging by the toadstool sticking out from his collarbone.

“I didn’t know you were coming today, Seungmin,” the fae says while smiling.

“I’m here on different business. Can you take us to the queen, Changmin?” Seungmin asks.

Changmin looks directly at the twins. “All of you?”

“Yes,” Chaewon bluntly says.

Changmin nervously looks from the twins to the archway. “Okay, you better have an explanation ready for her though. She’s been on edge lately.”

“Wonderful,” Minho mutters.

They follow Changmin to the archway, and he and Seungmin enter without hesitation. Felix and Chaewon stop just before entering, turning to look at everyone.

“Moment of truth,” Felix whispers.

“Don’t get arrested,” Eric says.

“No promises,” Chaewon replies.

The two hold hands and step forward, disappearing into the archway.

The remaining four boys take a deep breath and step forward, entering the Ninth Realm.

A bright light blinds Minho for a moment before disappearing. As his vision clears, he sees everyone standing in front of him, including the twins, who looked shocked. Surrounding them was a forest that looked identical to the one they entered.

Chaewon and Felix looked the same as how they’ve always been, but Minho notices how the freckles on Felix’s face seem to glow slightly.

“I didn’t expect us to actually get through,” Felix says, looking at his hands in disbelief.

“What did you expect would happen?” Hyunjin asks.

Felix shrugs. “A future problem?”

“Alright, just follow me and stay quiet once we’re out,” Changmin instructs. He looks over at the twins. “Keep your heads down, I guess? I don’t really know the procedure here since no one actually dares to come back.”

As Changmin takes the lead, Minho walks up to Seungmin.

“If you need a spell and a pickup every time you come here, how did Jeongin get in?”

“Oh, he…” Seungmin trails off and his pace slows. His expression turns into confusion as he processes what Minho says.

“I have no idea.”

Minho couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What? You didn’t teach him your spell?”

“You can’t _teach_ people how to do magic, just how to control the magic they already possess. You show signs at a young age, you get a teacher or five, and you learn to control it.”

“Five?”

Seungmin gives him a sly grin. “I was a handful for Wonpil. He needed backup.”

Minho quietly laughs at that before returning to the original topic. “That doesn’t explain how Jeongin got in though.”

“You’re thinking about this way too hard. It wouldn’t surprise me if they saw him standing on the trail like an idiot and talking to the trees and just opened the archway.”

Just then, they reach the end of the forest and Minho feels himself stop breathing.

If Seungmin’s garden was like heaven, then the Ninth Realm was indescribable.

A clear blue sky blanketed a small town bustling with people. Green grass covered the ground and Minho wanted nothing more than to lie in it and forget about his worries for just a moment. Far ahead was a large lake that sparkled in the sunlight, with a waterfall crashing down and letting mist rise up from it. Past the cliff sides were probably thousands of miles of land that Minho couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Instead of the usual stone that made up the foundation of the buildings and castle back home, the buildings here were made of a pristine white, gold, and silver material that Minho suspects only exists here.

Minho turns to see Chaewon and Felix looking around with a sentimental look on their faces.

“Nothing’s changed,” Chaewon whispers. “Everything is exactly where I remember it being.”

“Ten years and you would think a little renovation would happen,” Felix says. “Hey Changmin, is the giant hole next to the greenhouse still there?”

“It got turned into a well,” he responds.

“So Yena’s disaster did not last long, huh.”

“Is she a friend of yours?” Eric asks.

“She and her little sister Yuri were my best friends,” Chaewon explains. “Felix and I lived alone for the most part, but their parents were always so kind to us.”

“Yena and Yuri, huh?” Changmin says. “You won’t be missing them for long considering they work for Queen Vivi’s court now.”

“That’s a good thing, right? They can vouch for you two?” Hyunjin asks.

Before either of the twins could reply, Changmin speaks. “Yena’s one of the queen’s two personal knights and Yuri is one of the scribes. _Maybe_ Yena can defend you, but not by much.”

They continue walking, taking in the sights around them as they go. Minho listens as Chaewon and Felix point at different places and tells a story about what had happened there when they were children.

Jisung is silent the whole time as he anxiously fiddles with his fingers, looking up at the sky.

Minho nudges him with his elbow. “Hey, remember what you told me? We can’t predict what happens next, so don’t worry too much.”

Jisung gives him a sad smile. “I’m glad you remember. Keep that in mind.”

Before Minho could question him, Changmin stops and turns to them a few feet away from a set of golden gates and fences covered in silver vines.

“Once I open this, you’re on your own.” He looks to the twins. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” they both reply.

Two guards step aside as Changmin approaches the gates and pushes them open. He steps aside as Seungmin leads the way into Queen Vivi’s court.

Immediately, Minho could tell exactly what was the inspiration for Seungmin’s garden. The court was fashioned the same way in terms of decorations.

At the edge of the lake, with the waterfall providing a powerful backdrop, is seven thrones, all but one empty, in a semicircle. In the centre, on the largest throne of them all, sat the imposing and ethereal Queen Vivi of the Ninth Realm.

She wore a long, sparkling white gown and on her head sat a crown, shaped like antlers. Just like all the other fae, her face was unnervingly beautiful, but unlike the twins, Chan, or Changmin, Minho felt like he wasn’t supposed to make eye contact with her, like one sharp look from her could hurt him somehow.

Once they approach the semicircle, Seungmin, Jisung, and the twins immediately get on one knee and bow, with Minho and the others following shortly.

“Seungmin, I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Vivi says, and Minho is surprised to hear how gentle her voice is.

Seungmin stands, with the others following suit. “I’m here as a guide and helper to these people.”

“Before you explain, let me get a few things out of the way first. Yena, Jiwoo.”

Vivi points to the back of the group, and the two knights draw their swords and head towards the twins.

Everyone tenses, but before they can react, Chaewon hisses. “Don’t!”

She and Felix let themselves be watched by the two knights as they point their swords at them, not making any move to attack.

The knight guarding Chaewon takes a step forward, looking at their faces closely.

“Chae? Felix?” she whispers.

“Not now, Yena,” Chaewon whispers back.

“Now tell me, Seungmin,” Vivi says, her voice still calm and gentle. “What could have possibly happened that would lead to two deserters and four humans coming here, knowing that they cannot leave?”

“First I must ask, Your Highness, did a young human boy make his way to your realm recently by the name of Prince Lee Jeongin?”

Vivi’s kind expression shifts to one that is unreadable. “He did, but how does this concern you?”

Seungmin takes a step back. “The prince disappeared one night and while many think he was taken away, this group of people, which includes his brother, discovered he came here in search of something. They simply wish to bring him home.”

Vivi’s eyes shift to Minho. “You’re his brother?”

Minho’s eyes widen, not expecting to be addressed. “Y-yes, Your Highness. I apologize for any inconvenience my brother may have caused. All I ask is to bring him home and I will repay you in any way I can.”

Vivi shuts her eyes and slowly nods as Minho speaks, carefully listening to what he says. Once he finishes, she opens her eyes and stands up, slowly making her way down the steps, her dress trailing behind her.

“I have a lot of information to tell you, but first, I need to test something.”

She stops a few feet away from them and looks expectantly at Jisung. To Minho’s surprise, Jisung begins to head towards her.

Minho moves to try and stop him, but in the blink of an eye, Jisung pulls his dagger out and puts it under Minho’s chin, reminiscent of their first meeting, except Minho was the helpless one this time.

“Don’t do anything rash, Your Majesty,” Jisung calmly says. “We can’t predict what happens next.”

“What are you doing?” Minho harshly whispers.

Jisung doesn’t reply. Instead, he looks to Hyunjin and Felix before continuing towards Vivi.

He stops in front of her and waits.

Vivi smiles sweetly. “At least you’re respectful.”

In a flash, she swipes the dagger from Jisung’s hand, plunges it into his heart, and pulls it back out.

Time slows down and Minho feels like he’s underwater as he watches Jisung fall to his knees, completely expressionless.

He hears Eric shout and feels someone grab his arm as he runs forward, but he manages to slip out. He gets down next to Jisung and holds him in one arm as he uses his other hand to stop the bleeding.

“What the hell was your plan!?” Minho shouts at him. He looks at his friends for some sort of help, but he only sees Chaewon with a sword now under her throat to stop her, Hyunjin and Seungmin holding Eric back, and Felix standing completely still, looking far more calm than he should.

Minho’s attention is back to Jisung as he weakly grabs his arm to try and push him away. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Go back.”

Minho is shaking as he holds onto Jisung tightly, pressing down on his wound. “You’re not fine but you will be if you stop pushing me, just—” He turns to look at Seungmin and Hyunjin desperately, his voice is strained as he calls out to them. “Please…”

“Minho.”

Minho looks down at Jisung, who was blinking up at him slowly.

“Oh, sorry, I mean Your Majesty. Just trust me one last time.”

Jisung goes limp in his arms before Minho could tell him how nice his name sounds coming from him.

There were a lot of things Minho could do next. He could scream, he could cry, he could try and fail to attack Vivi, but he doesn’t do any of that. Instead, he just keeps his gaze on the bloodstained ground and holds Jisung’s body close.

That is until two minutes later when he feels something shake in his arms, and he looks down just in time to see Jisung sit up and gasp loudly, clutching his chest where the stab wound seems to have disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING EXPLANATION: vivi calls jisung over and she stabs him, killing jisung. minho runs over to hold him but a few moments later, jisung is revived
> 
> hope you enjoyed!!! next chapter will finally be the jisung lore dump ive been hoarding for months
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a remorseful expression, Jisung steps towards Minho and reaches for his hand, and is relieved when he doesn’t pull away.
> 
> “I promise you, I was going to tell you. Please don’t be mad.”
> 
> “I’m not mad, I just…” Minho sighs. “I just need an explanation.”
> 
> Jisung turns and looks at Vivi, who was staring at him intensely.
> 
> “Go ahead,” she spits out. “You’ve got all the time in the world, after all.”
> 
> Jisung looks back to Minho and squeezes his hand.
> 
> “So, uh, it’s kind of a long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hands you 6k words of jisung backstory* well that was nice to get off my chest. i felt bad for leaving last chapter on a cliffhanger so i immediately started writing this the next day so here you go
> 
> if you look back at the last 6 chapters i did a stupid amount of teasing for whats up with jisung if you're curious to check afterwards, but for now, enjoy!

“It’s always you Hans,” Vivi says bitterly, tossing the dagger to the side. “The Vitality Gem starts acting up when that prince arrives, and suddenly you show up? Do you take me for a fool?”

Jisung rubs the spot where he was stabbed, but no blood comes out. The wound had healed itself. “I swear to you, neither of the princes know. He’s just here for his brother.”

Minho slowly stands up, taking a few steps back away from Vivi and Jisung. _“What_ is going on?”

“Minho, just let Jisung explain,” Hyunjin says.

Minho turns around to face his friends, and is relieved to see that Chaewon and Eric look just as confused and terrified as he felt. As for Hyunjin, Felix, and Seungmin, they just give him a sympathetic look, no trace of confusion on their faces.

“You three know about... about whatever the hell is happening?” Minho realizes. “I thought you would just leave him to die but you knew he was going to be okay, didn’t you? That’s why you held Eric back and tried to grab me.”

“Hyunjin and I found out by accident,” Felix explains. He tries to take a step forward, but Jiwoo’s sword stops him.

“I only know because he came to me for help,” Seungmin adds.

Minho could only stare in shock before turning around once more to look at Jisung.

With a remorseful expression, Jisung steps towards Minho and reaches for his hand, and is relieved when he doesn’t pull away.

“I promise you, I was going to tell you. Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad, I just…” Minho sighs. “I just need an explanation.”

Jisung turns and looks at Vivi, who was staring at him intensely.

“Go ahead,” she spits out. “You’ve got all the time in the world, after all.”

Jisung looks back to Minho and squeezes his hand.

“So, uh, it’s kind of a long story.”

* * *

At the age of ten, Jisung died for the first time.

His dad was fixing the weathervane on the roof and went back into the house to get something, leaving the ladder up. So, Jisung did what every curious kid would do and climbed up onto the roof. He remembers the feeling of fear within him when he tripped over one of the tools and felt himself falling before everything went dark.

He woke up with his parents hovering over him, terrified. He looked down at where he landed and almost passed out at the amount of blood pooling on the ground and covering the rock where his head laid. Reaching up, he touched the back of his head but did not feel any pain or injury, just some residual blood.

Jisung’s voice cracked as he looked at his parents. “What happened?”

His parents looked at each other, concerned.

“Jisung,” his father said, holding his son’s hands. “Do you remember when you were eight years old and your mother and I took you to that magical place?”

Jisung nodded, still confused.

“I know you don’t remember much, but there’s a reason why.”

Jisung and his parents occasionally travelled to sell the food they had grown, even if they barely made anything, and on one of those trips is when they spotted Vivi, who was disguised as a human, sitting alone in a tavern. More importantly, they spotted the gem peeking out of her pocket.

Their desperate, half baked plan for a better life was simple. His parents would speak to Vivi and strike up a conversation while Jisung would sneakily grab the gem out of her pocket.

It worked, at least that’s what they thought at first. As they were leaving the tavern and heading home, Jisung could remember the way his vision went hazy before he blinked and he and his parents were standing in the middle of a full court, with Vivi standing in front of them in her fae form, furious.

“You think you can get away from stealing from me?” she hissed.

His parents opened their mouths to try and speak, but Vivi closed her fist, and his parents were left literally speechless. They could only stare in fear and stand in front of their son as an attempt to shield him from her wrath.

Vivi began pacing. “I venture into the human world for a simple meeting, I meet two lovely humans who I thought just wanted a nice conversation, but instead, I meet two thieves who recruit their son to do their bidding.”

Jisung’s mom tries to shout at her, but all that comes out are strained squeaks.

Vivi rolls her eyes at her. “The Vitality Gem cannot be far from me, you know? I made it myself. I was very worried when I came home to find it out of my pocket, so you better pray there are no severe effects. For now though…”

She turned and faced the court behind her. “I think they need to learn there are consequences for their actions, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the court chants.

Vivi waves a hand at Jisung’s parents and two guards grab them and pull them aside, keeping them in place, leaving Vivi alone with Jisung.

She crouched down to his level. “I have to ask for my gem back sweetie. It’s very important to the Ninth Realm.”

Jisung sees his parents struggling against the guards, but he still gave her the gem back.

“Will you let them go now?” he quietly asked, his hands shaking.

Vivi doesn’t answer him at first. She just picks up the gem and holds it out behind her.

“Chanhee.”

A pink-haired fae who was standing to the right of her throne runs up and takes the gem before going back to his spot.

Vivi then answers Jisung. “I’ll let them go untouched, don’t worry about that. They still need to learn their lesson though.” She reached over and touched Jisung’s cheek. “That’s where you come in. Think of this as a long term minor inconvenience. You may have a bit of memory loss, but that’s a normal side effect.”

Jisung’s parents began struggling even more, but were unsuccessful in breaking free. As for Jisung, he was too afraid to do anything, like one wrong breath would make Vivi’s anger worse.

“Your Highness.”

One of the court members, a dark-haired man wearing a leather apron and a toolbelt, stood up from his seat and bows. He looked at her hesitantly.

“Isn’t it a bit much to drag the child into it? Punishing the real culprits would be simple enough, right?”

Vivi simply laughed. “They dragged him into it first. Besides, watching their son be cursed without being able to do a thing seems like a punishment for them too, right?”

The man looked distraught as he glanced over at Jisung’s parents before ultimately backing down from a losing battle.

Vivi smiles softly at Jisung. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he has a nice, long life.”

The hand on Jisung’s cheek began to glow, and all he saw was a blinding light before passing out.

It was not the preferred way to gain immortality, and Jisung didn’t even want it to begin with. Yes, you’re unable to be killed, and yes, you stop ageing at a certain point, but Jisung quickly realized that an infinite life of watching everyone grow old without you is a life he did not want.

That’s why he began looking for a cure to this curse when he moved to the capital.

A homeless twelve-year-old wandering the streets wouldn’t be able to get much information, but things began looking up once Eunbi opened her doors to him, and he was so glad for that.

The woman treated him with nothing but kindness, and the others living with him accepted him immediately. Yerim was like a sister to him, he and Hitomi always snuck into the bakery to grab treats, and all the other kids made sure to make him feel like he was one of them.

He remembered one incident, commonly called “The Piano Incident,” in which Chaeyeon would wake up in the middle of the night and play the piano by Hitomi’s door every night for a month straight, scaring the poor girl into thinking there was a ghost in the basement. When he caught Chaeyeon in the act two weeks into the prank, she simply handed him a few silver coins and told him to keep his mouth shut.

He did, and Hitomi still resents him to this day about keeping it a secret and letting her embarrass herself like that.

At first, he just stuck with doing odd jobs assigned by Eunbi, but years later he would start doing hits, and as he got older, especially in the recent months, he would disappear for a few days in the hopes of finding a cure, only to come back empty-handed.

His saving grace came in the form of a fortune teller who came waltzing into the bakery one day, searching for an assassin, and the girls offered up Jisung’s services.

“I don’t actually need anyone dead,” Jacob explained. “But I’ve been robbed of my belongings and I need someone stealthy to get them back.”

“I can do that,” Jisung replied. “Just give me all the information and half the payment.”

Jacob relays all the information to Jisung and hands him a small bag of gold. As he was leaving, he turned around one last time.

“When you return, if I’m not in my shop, stop by the Steel-Kissed Edge. It’s a new shop and I’ll probably be there.”

The job was a piece of cake, and Jisung managed to get it done with only one casualty, being that he lost his dagger on the way home. The next morning, he stared at the closed shop that belonged to Jacob before heading to the new blacksmith’s shop.

He entered the shop, immediately seeing a dark-haired man behind the counter. The man looked up at Jisung, and he felt his heart drop.

He felt bad for freezing up, but the last time he looked a fae in the eyes, his life was ruined by continuing to go on.

“Can I help you?” the fae asked.

“Um.” Jisung hesitantly held up the bag he was holding. “Jacob said I could find him here?”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course he told you that. He’s here so much it’s like he moved in.”

The man goes into a side room, leaving Jisung alone to compose himself.

“What the fuck is a fae doing here,” he whispers to himself.

Not long after, the man returns with Jacob following him.

“My things!” Jacob cheers.

He walks up to Jisung with his hands reaching forward, but Jisung lifts a hand to stop him. “Payment?”

“Oh, of course!” Jacob reaches into his cloak and pulls out a bag of gold, handing it over. “You work fast.”

“It was simple.” Jisung then glances over at the fae. “You new here?”

“Moved to the capital a few months ago. I’m Bang Chan by the way,” he replied.

“Jisung.”

“Being a fortune teller means that I know a lot of people, and I make it my business to know everyone here,” Jacob said. “It just so happens that Chan ended up being a great friend.”

Chan laughed. “Apparently so, since I can’t seem to get rid of you.”

“Well if you don’t want me here, I’ll hang out with my new friend Jisung.” Jacob swings his arm around Jisung’s shoulder. “Let me buy you a drink in repayment for how fast you got my things back.”

“You really don’t have to—”

“But I’m insisting!”

Jisung looked over at Chan again, who was staring back at him.

“Is everything okay?” Chan asked.

“Sorry, it’s just…” Jisung looks down at the leather apron and toolbelt. “You look familiar.”

Chan just scoffed. “Trust me, it’s hard to forget this face in the human world.”

Jisung lets himself be dragged out of the shop as he tries to remember where he had seen Chan.

“My friend owns this great tavern,” Jacob explained. “He’s a really nice guy too. You know the Crescent Moon?”

“Who hasn’t. The place is huge,” Jisung replied. “When I was little, one of the workers there used to give me free leftover meals whenever I’d stop by.”

Jacob smiled. “Haseul’s sweet like that. She thinks she’s being sneaky when in reality everyone knows but just lets her do it.”

As they continued to walk, Jisung started to think. “You really do know everyone here, huh?”

“Just not the palace workers, but that’s just because they either are in the castle most of the time or live there.”

“So, hypothetically, if I give you a name, you’ll be able to tell me who that person is and where I could find them?”

Jacob stops and looks to Jisung. “Are you asking me to be your informant?”

“I mean—”

“Because the answer is a definite yes, but on the condition that you mention my shop to the people that you don’t end up killing.”

Jisung stands there, surprised at how easy it was to convince him.

“I can do that. What do you do again?”

“I’m a fortune teller,” Jacob replied. “You interested?”

Can you tell a future if that future is infinite? “I’ll pass, but I’d love to see you in action.”

“It is pretty cool. Oh, we’re here.”

Entering the Crescent Moon, Jisung was surprised to see it so packed in the afternoon. Jacob leads Jisung to a table in the corner and waves to a muscular worker who makes his way over.

“Hey, Jacob, who’s this?”

Jacob introduced the two. “Changbin, meet Jisung. Changbin, this is the guy who got me my things back.”

They shake hands, and Jisung is startled by how strong his grip is. “Thanks for that. I knew it was a good idea to recommend you guys to Jacob.”

“Have you worked with us before?” Jisung asked.

“Not me, but my friend Juyeon has and told me you guys are good. That’s why I told Jacob about you. It wasn’t too hard?”

“Not at all. Lost my dagger, but I can just get a new one.”

“Why don’t you grab us all drinks and come sit with us for a bit?” Jacob asked.

Changbin looks back at the tavern and sees that the chaos had died down. “Just one round.”

With just one job in just one day, Jisung had unknowingly met three of his future best friends. It wasn’t unusual to spot him winding down in Changbin’s tavern, sitting in Jacob’s shop watching him work, or, surprisingly, chatting with Chan behind the counter.

Luckily, his first awkward meeting with Chan didn’t leave a bad first impression, and after being dragged multiple times by Jacob to his shop, the two quickly formed a fast friendship. In fact, Jisung would even show up to the shop without Jacob.

He wasn’t sure what eventually caused him to ask Chan these questions. Maybe it was because he died on the job twice that day, maybe he was thinking a lot about that day, or maybe he was just feeling frustrated, but as Chan began to close up shop, Jisung started talking.

“Is it true that you can’t enter or leave the fae world?”

Chan looked up hesitantly at Jisung. “If you’re a fae, you can leave but can’t come back. If you’re from this world, you can’t do either. The only exception is if the queen grants you permission.”

 _“That explains how we entered and left,”_ Jisung thought.

“Chan, do you know what the Vitality Gem is?”

Chan was probably the most laid back guy Jisung knew, but at that moment he froze and looked at him with fear in his eyes.

“Where did you hear that name?” he whispered.

“So you do know about it.” Jisung walked behind the counter to face Chan. “Which means you probably know something about Queen Vivi’s magic, since she’s the one who made it.”

“Back up, back up, hold on a second.” Chan pulls up a stool and takes a seat, putting his head in his hands. He looks back up at Jisung, distressed. “Why do you know all of this? _How_ do you know?”

“I—” Jisung hesitated before replying. He already said too much, so he might as well go all the way. “You can’t tell anyone this. Not Changbin, and not Jacob.”

“You’re really scaring me right now.”

“My memory’s been foggy about that day, but my parents told me what happened. They asked me to steal this gem from a woman so they could sell it for some money except they didn’t know that woman was Queen Vivi so when she found out, she brought our parents to Ninth Realm and she cursed me—”

“With immortality,” Chan whispered, staring up at Jisung in awe. “You’re the kid.”

“What are you talking ab—” Jisung cuts himself off and takes a step back. He wasn’t crazy when he thought Chan was familiar. The apron, the toolbelt, the dark hair. All of it was the same. “You tried to stop her from cursing me.”

“And I really didn’t do a good job, did I?” Chan slowly stands up and hesitantly steps forward, reaching a hand out to Jisung. Jisung steps forward in response and soon enough, the two were embracing each other in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry I didn’t fight more,” Chan whispered.

“No one could’ve stopped her,” Jisung replied.

They step out from their hug, but Chan does not let go of Jisung’s shoulders.

“That’s why I’m working this job,” Jisung says. “I’m hoping to make enough connections or eventually get a hit on a person who has information that can help me reverse this.”

Chan sighs. “I’m sorry I can’t really help. Vivi’s specialty is life magic and mine is enchantments.”

“That’s alright, it’s just…” Jisung takes a deep breath and smiles. “It’s good to finally talk to someone about it.”

Chan smiles back. “Feel free to come to me any time, alright?”

Jisung nods, and Chan suddenly perks up. “Actually, I just remembered that I need to give you something.”

He rushes into the back room and returns holding a dagger.

“The reason I left the Ninth Realm was because of you,” he explained. “The guilt of what happened was eating at me so I felt like I had to leave. I was the royal blacksmith and enchanter. Once I left, I would constantly be moving around and open up different shops, but I never enchanted anything.” Chan hands him the dagger. “At least until now.”

Jisung carefully takes the dagger, not wanting to accidentally set off any magic. “Are you serious? Why now? Why me?”

“Guess I have a soft spot for you. Jacob mentioned you lost your dagger, so I made you one you can’t lose. You just have to attune to it.”

Jisung gives him a giddy smile. “I have no idea what any of that means but this is really cool.”

Chan swings an arm over his shoulder. “I’ll explain on the way to Changbin’s. I think we both could use a drink.”

Just like that, reunited after nearly twelve years, Jisung finally gained a confidant in his quest for a cure. Chan told him everything he knew about Vivi’s magic, which unfortunately was not a lot, and Jisung informed him of any leads, which unfortunately led to nothing. It wasn’t until a month later when he was spending the day with Changbin that maybe, just maybe, there was finally some hope.

The two were taking a walk around the market as they chatted.

“So, Chan enchanted that little knife for you?” Changbin asked.

“It’s so cool!” Jisung said. “If I throw it really far away, I can just summon it back!”

“What I would give to see the enchantment in action. I’ve seen magic up close a few times, but never an enchantment.”

Jisung raised his eyebrow at Changbin. “You’ve seen magic before?”

Changin smiled. “My friend Kim Seungmin is a witch, and a pretty powerful one at that.”

That caught Jisung’s attention. “How powerful?”

“Well, you know how people can’t enter or leave Chan’s old home? Seungmin is an exception. He didn’t explain much, but I know that their queen gives him permission to go in and out.”

Jisung’s mind was racing. If Seungmin was that powerful, then he could have an answer to how to fix him.

“Does he meet with the queen often?” Jisung asked, trying to keep his voice stable.

Changbin replied, unaware of Jisung’s nervousness. “Yup, that’s why he goes there. They do some magic dealings and things like that.”

“Does he talk about some of the magic there?”

“You’re starting to sound like Prince Jeongin.”

Jisung stopped where he was.

“You spoke to the prince?”

Changbin looked excited as he replied. “I spent part of yesterday with him when he visited the village. He’s a really sweet kid.”

“I’m not surprised by that, but you spoke about Seungmin with him?”

Changbin pulled Jisung along as he explained. “The prince and I basically had the same conversation we just had. I was talking about some of my friends here including Chan, I mentioned the Ninth Realm, Seungmin, and some of the things Seungmin saw there. Once I mentioned the Vitality Gem, the prince got _really_ interested and even asked where he lived. He’s a curious kid.”

Jisung felt his heart drop. Of course everything let back to that stupid rock. Still, he needed to keep it together for just a little longer.

“Vitality Gem? Sounds dramatic.”

“It’s basically a gem that can ‘bring life to any living thing’ or something like that. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one of those since the crops are a mess.”

“I forgot about that,” Jisung muttered. “Eunbi hasn’t been pleased since there’s less wheat growing now.”

“You there!”

Jisung and Changbin turned around to see two guards approaching them.

“What did you do?” Changbin hissed.

“What did _you_ do, Wolfie?” Jisung whispered back.

The two put on a fake smile once the guards got closer, and Jisung could see how anxious they looked.

“Have either of you seen Prince Jeongin in the village today?” one asked.

“Not at all,” Changbin replied.

“Isn’t he a bit old to be babysat?” Jisung asked. “Every time I’ve seen him lately, he’s been alone.”

“He didn’t run off, he’s just… not home,” the second guard replied hesitantly.

Before Jisung could ask anything else, the first guard cleared his throat a bit too loudly. “Well, that’s all. Thank you very much.”

The two walked off without another word, but Jisung could see the first guard scolding the second one.

Changbin shrugged. “Guess he was supposed to stay home today.”

Well, something happened to the prince, and Jisung now knew that thanks to the horrific subtlety of the guards. The question was if the prince was not home out of his volition.

“Where was I?” Changbin muttered. “Oh yeah! Basically, the prince was very sweet and very cute and very curious about Seungmin, but I don’t blame him. Who wouldn’t want to know about a powerful witch, right?”

“Oh.” The dots started to connect. The failed crops, Prince Jeongin’s curiosity about the gem, asking where Seungmin lived, and now the guards asking about his whereabouts.

He had to do more digging and planning, which should take about two days. He looked up at the castle as he and Changbin continued to walk.

It shouldn’t be that hard to break in, right?

* * *

The plan was simple. Travel with the royal entourage and don’t die.

He managed to complete one of the tasks, and he honestly should’ve seen the multiple instances of dying coming ever since he heard Jacob’s fortune to Minho. He also managed to complete a bonus step of falling in love with the crown prince, but he was just going to shove that aside for later.

The added stress of the two faes was another problem. Chaewon had said that she and her brother left the Ninth Realm for the same reasons as Chan, which meant he had to watch what he said around the two of them. He just wished Minho didn't stop him from asking them why they left. Chan didn't rat Jisung out to them, so did he lie to them? Was he vague when talking about what happened? Or maybe, the twins simply told him they left because they had enough of Vivi. Whatever it was, he was at least grateful that they were still unaware about him. It gave him more time to focus on other things.

Hitomi always said he was impulsive, and he wouldn’t be surprised if she warned Eric about it, but being so endeared by a man that he takes an arrow to the heart for him? That had to be a new record for him.

He woke up and pulled the arrow out of him, looking around at the chaos, only to make eye contact with Hyunjin, whose face had gone pale and was staring at him in fear.

Jisung puts a finger to his lips and looks at the archer in the trees, who had turned his attention to Felix.

Quickly, Jisung climbed up the tree and stabbed him in the heart, letting him fall to the ground. He climbed back down just in time to see Felix stab the last bandit, and took a seat on the ground, rubbing his chest where he got shot.

He thanked the heavens above that Hyunjin backed up his lie when Minho started asking questions, even if he felt bad about tricking Minho, but now he had to face the problem of Hyunjin himself.

They sat in the cart in silence during their watch until Hyunjin finally cracked. “I saw what happened with my own two eyes. I know Minho wasn’t hallucinating, so spill.”

So he did. It was much easier to just tell Hyunjin the truth instead of lying and by the end of his story, Hyunjin was staring at him with his jaw dropped.

“I’m not lying,” Jisung said.

“Your story is way too complicated to be a lie,” Hyunjin said, still looking stunned. “So you just come back to life every time?”

“Do you want proof?”

“I’m not killing you, Jisung.”

“At least I offered.”

Hyunjin thinks for a moment. “So Chan’s fortune about the multiple casualties…?”

“Probably about me.”

“If this is some big secret, then why did you risk it for Minho?” Hyunjin asked. “You guys just met.”

Jisung opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. It was one of the rare times that Jisung did not have a response.

“I… I don’t know,” he finally said. “I didn’t want him to die, so I pushed him out of the way. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t do it.”

Hyunjin laughed. “Your little game in the cart impacted you that much?”

“What does that mean?”

“You could’ve just said that he’s the crown prince and it was your duty to protect him or something like that. Instead, you’re left speechless before telling me that you don’t want him to die and how you’ll feel so guilty if you didn’t save him.”

“I-I’m being a decent human being!” Jisung sputtered. “It’s not that deep!”

“Then why did you go out of your way to help him fall asleep today?”

Jisung felt his face get hot. “He was agitated and looked like shit.”

Hyunjin shrugs, enjoying the teasing. “It’s not a bad thing to admit that you have a tiny crush on Minho, especially since you two get along so easily.”

Jisung huffed. “Fine, whatever, I think he’s interesting and it was kind of hot when he put his sword under my chin and threatened me. So what?”

Hyunjin stared at him in silence. I… did not need to know that part.”

“It was also hot when he did it the second time and his face was inches away from mine.”

“PLEASE stop talking about this.”

Jisung began to laugh as he watched Hyunjin groan, trying to erase the image from his head. At the very least, he got his revenge from all the teasing.

“Fine, I’ll talk about something else. Want to hear the stupidest ways I’ve died?”

Hyunjin lifted his head up. “Why am I not surprised you’ve died in a stupid way?”

Jisung shoves Hyunjin but begins to tell his stories throughout the rest of their watch.

There was a warm feeling in his chest as the two giggled like they were at a sleepover. Jisung was worried about going back to his life before Chan, where he had to keep everything a secret. Maybe this accident wasn’t so bad after all. He gained a new confidant and as it turned out, Hyunjin wasn’t as much as a stick in the mud as he thought. He felt okay enough to call him a friend after that night.

Of course, the secret between the two didn’t last long because Jisung was a dumb, hopeless romantic who didn’t know how to follow instructions because the only thing on his mind was Minho and his pretty face and imagining his pretty face with a specific flower behind his ear. He honestly didn’t think Seungmin would be crazy enough to put poisonous plants in his puzzle tunnel, but now he knows to never underestimate the witch ever again.

Once he felt himself getting woozy, he immediately positioned himself to fall behind the altar, hidden away from everyone else. Just as he felt his life fading away, he hoped that Hyunjin would at least stop the others from going after him.

He opened his eyes to see Felix looking at him, close to tears, before shouting once he sees his eyes open.

“Shhhh Felix!” Jisung says, sitting up in a panic.

“You had no pulse! Your face was all weird and had these vein things on them. You were _dead,”_ Felix nearly shrieked.

Jisung grabs Felix’s hands to calm him down. “Yes, I’m aware and this is a common occurrence and all I’m asking you to do is not mention this to anyone except Hyunjin until I have the chance to explain.”

“Hyunjin knows?”

“I lied. I actually got shot yesterday and he saw.”

Felix looked like he was going to pass out any second.

The two stood up and appeared from behind the altar.

“Once we’re alone, I’ll explain, okay?”

Felix slowly nodded. “Okay.”

That was sort of a lie. He ended up explaining with Seungmin in the room too, but it was fine, and Felix surely did not mind. He was killing two birds with one stone.

“Immortal? Seriously?” Seungmin asked once Jisung finished his story.

“Do you want proof?” Jisung offered.

“We’re not killing you, Jisung,” Felix said.

“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Seungmin began. “Bad news is that I cannot reverse something as powerful as that, especially since it was cast by Queen Vivi. The good news is that you can keep travelling with your boyfriend and his friends to the Ninth Realm and ask the queen herself to reverse it.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jisung says.

“Yet,” Felix muttered.

“Besides, you just told us how hard it would be to convince her to free Prince Jeongin. You really think she’s going to help us twice?”

“Would she even help you? Doesn’t she hate your parents?” Felix adds.

Jisung feels his chest hurt. “You don’t have to worry about all this. I told everyone I’m coming to see Seungmin and now I need to head home tomorrow.”

“Jisung, you can still come with us.”

“Do you even know if everyone wants me to come along?”

Felix rolls his eyes. “You and I both know you only care about what Minho thinks.”

Jisung sounded defeated as he spoke. “And he should be focused on getting his brother, not helping me. I’ll just go to the Ninth Realm at a later date.”

His impossible task just got even more difficult, and Jisung wanted nothing more than to just scream and cry, but he didn’t. He felt like he was ten again and he was learning about his curse for the first time. He wasn’t sure what was worse, having no solution, or having an unattainable one.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Seungmin approaching him with a glass of water.

“You’ll figure it out,” he said, handing Jisung the cup. “I know I said a lot of scary stuff, but Queen Vivi can be reasoned with if you play your cards right.”

“Thanks,” Jisung said quietly. He took a small sip and watched as Seungmin began pulling out vegetables from his bag, letting Felix and Jisung have a moment.

“Just enjoy your day today,” Felix says softly. “And don’t worry too much. You act like Hyunjin and I won’t immediately go running to you to help once we come back home.”

Jisung smiles softly at Felix. “Thank you. I’ll make it up to you guys.”

“You’re the reason we were able to get a lead on Jeongin. If anything, we’re the ones repaying you. Also, meeting Seungmin is a nice bonus.”

Seungmin smirked at Felix. “Is it now?”

“Alright, ew, that ruined the moment.” Jisung handed Seungmin the cup. “I’m going outside now, bye.”

“Wait, before you go.”

Seungmin runs to his cauldron and scoops out a flower before handing it to Jisung.

“You left it on the table before going upstairs, so I assumed you wanted to keep it since you brought it here,” Seungmin explained. “I got rid of the poison, don’t worry.”

Jisung gave him a bright smile. “Thank you, Seungmin.”

Just before he went outside, Jisung quickly ran upstairs and grabbed his bag that was sitting on his and Minho’s bed.

 _“His and Minho’s bed.”_ The thought alone was enough to make him blush. He wasn’t sure how he was going to survive tonight.

Nothing could kill him, but Jisung was positive that Prince Lee Minho would be the death of him.

* * *

If fate was real, then Jisung wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, it gave him a shitty curse. On the other, it gave him Minho.

Loving him was not part of his plan at all. Jisung didn’t think he ever would, not after the rocky start they had, but he had a tendency to run into things headfirst, and romance was no exception.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t flirt with the prince for the fun of it, but it was other, genuine moments that, looking back, made him realize that he cared for Minho a lot more than he realized.

The question game in the cart, taking the arrow for him, dying just to get a flower for him, their afternoon in Seungmin’s garden together, falling asleep while holding each other’s hands. Every second of their time together gave Jisung another reason to want his curse undone. He didn’t want his time with Minho to be a distant, foggy memory hundreds of years from now. He wanted it to remember it until the end of his life, and to do that, his life needed to have an end.

It pained him to pull the dagger on Minho, but he couldn’t risk having him disturb Vivi. He couldn’t let Minho’s happiness with Jeongin be jeopardized.

He let her take the dagger and stab him without a fight. It wasn’t the first time he was stabbed, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. The fear he was feeling didn’t come from dying. It came from the worry that with him here, Vivi wouldn’t listen to them, and if she didn’t listen, there was no way they were going to get Jeongin back, and Jisung wasn’t sure if he could live with that guilt.

He felt someone wrap his arms around him and cradle him, and he looked up to see Minho looking down at him, panicked and distraught.

He didn’t like that expression on his face. It wasn’t like Minho. It didn’t look like the guy he loved.

Oh.

Jisung realized he loved Minho the moment he whispered his name. Not Your Majesty, just Minho.

Everything began to fade around Jisung as Minho held him close and for once, dying had never felt so peaceful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long silence followed Jisung’s explanation as he finished explaining his conversation with Felix and Seungmin, and Minho could only stare at him in silence.
> 
> He hated that he was right. He hated that his suspicion of Jisung holding back actually led somewhere. He hated that so many things Jisung had said and done make sense in this new light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops this took forever to update sorry about that i fell into a one shot frenzy
> 
> im guessing that theres maybe one or two chapters + the epilogue left and then the fic is done! wowie!

A long silence followed Jisung’s explanation as he finished explaining his conversation with Felix and Seungmin, and Minho could only stare at him in silence.

He hated that he was right. He hated that his suspicion of Jisung holding back actually led somewhere. He hated that so many things Jisung had said and done make sense in this new light.

_“Where’s the fun in telling you everything at once?” Jisung teases. “If you really want to know though, I am an immortal vampire who is going to put you under my spell.”_

_Chan simply smiled back, but Minho noticed something off with it. “What can I say? You’re one of a kind.”_

_“Trusted me enough to tell me to watch out for you, but I told her you will return home without a scratch.”_

_Minho notices Jisung’s smile twitch for a split second before returning to his charismatic look. “Felix, Chaewon, what happened with Chan?”_

_Jisung points out a tree as he responds. “I won’t give you a reason to worry. Even if I did, I doubt you could kill me.”_

The silence finally broke when Chaewon spoke.

“You’re the kid…” she whispers.

Minho, still confused, turns to look at her before looking back at Jisung. “What are you talking about?”

Chaewon looks to Felix furiously as her brother avoids her eye. “You didn’t tell me?”

“I couldn’t tell you without exposing Jisung!” Felix explains. “I was going to tell you once he was okay with everyone knowing, I swear!”

“What kid?” Eric asks. “Are you two immortal too?”

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just…” Chaewon takes a moment to collect herself. “When Felix and I were kids, we heard the queen was very angry one day, so before she summoned the court, Felix and I snuck in and hid behind the bushes to see what was going on. That’s when we saw what happened with Jisung. We were so scared about what happened that once the court cleared out, we ran out, stole some swords from Chan’s shop for protection, and ran. We were scared about what would happen if they found out we saw what happened.”

“Everything really does lead back to that stupid rock, huh,” Hyunjin says.

“You said Chan told you why he left though,” Eric says.

“Chan told us he left because he saw someone get cursed, we just didn’t think it was Jisung,” Felix answers. “We didn’t even know the day it happened.”

Vivi finally speaks up. “If it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t have punished you harshly if I found out you two were watching.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Chaewon says with a scowl.

As all this goes on, Minho does not take his eyes off Jisung. He looked completely wrecked after unloading everything, and Minho was worried that he was going to burst into tears any second.

Wanting to ease Jisung’s pain, Minho turns to Vivi. “Your Highness, Jisung came here today with the intention of finding my brother. He means no harm whatsoever.”

Vivi raises an eyebrow at that. “Considering you had no idea about his secret, I’ll believe you, but that doesn’t mean he’s off the hook just yet.”

Vivi looks at her two guards. “Let them go and call Chanhee. Tell him to bring the boy. Maybe he knows how to fix this problem.”

Yena and Jiwoo lower their swords and leave the court, but not before Yena softly smiles at Chaewon.

Vivi sets her eyes on Minho once more. “Your brother’s magic is fairly weak but still stronger than I expected. Must be the power of the Ninth Realm supporting him.”

Minho nearly chokes as he replies. “His what?”

“Are all conversations with you just people explaining things to you?”

Minho shakes his head. “Jeongin doesn’t have magic. Jeongin _isn’t_ magical.”

“You’re making some very bold claims for someone so uninformed.” Vivi begins to pace. “Did Seungmin ever explain to you levels of magic?”

Minho looks from Vivi to Seungmin before looking back at the queen. “No, why?”

“Some people don’t have magic in their blood like faes, and some don’t have an innate ability for it that must be trained like Seungmin,” Vivi explains. “The lowest level just means that there are people born with no abilities, but magic just reacts around them. Your brother is one of them.”

“That can’t be,” Seungmin interjects. “Nothing crazy happened when he was at my house.”

“It doesn’t have to be something big. It could be as simple as an object moving an inch to the left or gems glowing brighter than usual. Are you telling me _nothing_ happened at your home?”

Seungmin opens his mouth to argue back, but closes it just as quickly, lost in thought.

Minho could only stare straight ahead blankly as he attempted to wrap his head around everything that was happening. First, there was the revelation with Jisung, and just as he began to move past it to deal with Jeongin, Vivi dropped a new bomb on him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Hyunjin looking at him with concern.

“I know it’s a lot, I know.” He squeezes his shoulder tightly. “Just take it one at a time.”

Minho nods. Right now, he had one priority, and that was to get Jeongin and get everyone out, but he was too overwhelmed to even speak.

“Why bring up his magic?” Felix eventually asks. “What happened when he arrived?”

Vivi glares at Jisung. “The Vitality Gem is linked to me, so when it was separated from me, its power began to malfunction. However, one Prince Jeongin appeared at our door in your realm, the gem began acting up, so I requested that someone bring him into the Ninth Realm and into my court.”

“And then what happened?” Eric asks.

“We spoke. He explained why he was here and I explained that he had magic and what that magic was doing.” To everyone’s surprise, Vivi looked nervous as she continued explaining. She looked behind everyone towards the court’s entrance. “He was eager to help, so we decided that he would hold the gem to see if there would be a reaction. That’s when this happened.”

Everyone turned around to see a pink-haired, fae man standing at the entrance with one arm raised to the side. Next to him was a floating bundle of vines that Minho assumed had to do with Vivi’s story.

“Chanhee, bring him here.” Vivi beckons the fae forward and everyone parted, making a path for him and the vines that he was carrying as he made his way next to the queen.

Vivi looks at Minho, still nervous. “Just know that he’s not dead.”

Before Minho could ask her what he meant, Chanhee claps his hands and the vines open up, revealing Jeongin’s body, eyes shut, and completely still.

Minho broke out of Hyunjin’s grasp and sprints to his brother, tripping and stumbling over his own two feet in a desperate attempt to reach him. Once he does, he reaches over and holds his brother’s face in his shaking hands. He places one hand on his chest and almost sobs in relief when he could feel Jeongin breathing, but he was limp in Minho’s hands, not stirring at all.

“What the hell happened to him?” Minho growls, throwing all formalities out the window. He took his hands off his brother and clenched his fists, keeping one hand close to his sword.

“He touched the gem and hit the ground,” Vivi explains, her stern demeanour returning. Her pity for Minho began disappearing as she eyes him carefully. “He’s not dead or asleep or unconscious, but his life is not… present.”

 _“What_ does that mean?” Hyunjin asks, his temper rising.

Chanhee takes a step forward as the two royal right hands scowl at each other. “Your prince’s life was taken by the gem. He is essentially in a magic coma.”

It was like the others could read Minho and Hyunjin’s minds. One second they were standing completely still, processing everything Vivi and Chanhee were saying. The next, Felix and Chaewon were holding onto Minho and Eric and Seungmin were holding onto Hyunjin to stop them from lunging forward.

Minho tries to pull away from his two guards, but he could only struggle in their grasp as he glares at Vivi. “You let him touch something you knew was dangerous!? Surely you can not be this much of a fool to think it would end well, Your Highness.”

Chanhee moves towards Minho angrily, but before he could say a word, Vivi puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Let him be angry. You would be too if this was Younghoon.”

Vivi then looks at Minho blankly. “And surely you can not be this much of a fool to believe that I haven’t tried to fix this.”

Minho and Hyunjin stop struggling as Vivi rolls her eyes. Hyunjin pulls himself out of Eric and Seungmin’s grasp but makes no move towards Chanhee.

“The gem is still acting up and only I am allowed to touch it since nothing will happen to its creator.” Vivi explains. “My specialty is life magic, so I figured out that the gem needs a life. I tried to exchange Prince Jeongin’s for something else in the hopes that his life will return.”

“And?” Chaewon presses.

Just like before, Vivi goes from a hardened look to one that is much gentler and sympathetic. “First I tried plants, but that provided nothing. Then, I moved onto the farm animals that were going to be sent to the butcher’s, but that didn’t work either. That happened last night. Neither plants nor animals are adequate enough. It needs to be an equal exchange.”

“And now?” Seungmin carefully asks.

“And now I’m thinking about my next steps very carefully.” She looks Minho in the eyes. “Even if you could leave, you would be sentencing your brother to actual death by bringing him home. I don’t think anyone here wishes to find out what would happen if he got too far from the gem.”

Minho is, in the simplest terms, exhausted. At this point, he couldn’t give less of a shit about his attitude or the gem or what’s at stake for Vivi. The one thing he wanted was his brother, and now he can’t even have that.

He steps closer to his brother and lifts a hand towards his head, gently running his fingers through his hair. He’s never seen Jeongin so still, not even when he was asleep or in meetings, so seeing no expression on his face and no movement was absolutely terrifying to him.

“I’m sorry I made you think I didn’t think you were capable,” Minho whispers. “I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to sneak off without telling me. If you told me your plan, I would’ve followed you in a heartbeat after calling you crazy. You’re so smart and skillful and would make an amazing king and…”

Minho trails off, his hand freezing as he remembers what Vivi had implied earlier.

“I love you, always. Don’t forget that,” Minho whispers one last time.

He stands up straight and takes a deep breath, composing himself.

“Your Highness, when you say something of equal value…”

“I mean a human life,” Vivi finishes.

“And would that human whose life you take end up dying, or would they end up like Jeongin?”

“Your brother would awaken with someone else in his place,” Vivi explains. She raises an eyebrow at Minho. “Why? Have someone in mind? I wouldn’t expect this kind of thinking from you.”

Minho hesitates before answering. “I’m not offering up anyone else—”

“No.”

Felix was by far the least intimidating one of the group, but hearing his voice so full of restrained anger as he stomped over to Minho almost made Minho wince in fear.

Felix points at Minho, prodding his chest. “You want to offer up your life, don’t you? You want to switch places with Jeongin.”

“Felix, that’s crazy,” Chaewon interrupts, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder. She looks to Minho. “You wouldn’t, right?”

Minho’s silence was enough of a response.

Surprisingly, it was Jisung, who was silently standing off to the side, who spoke first.

“Minho…” He looked heartbroken as he spoke. “You don’t want to die, trust me.”

It hurt Minho to hear Jisung say his name like that, but he pushed the pain aside. “I’m not going to be dead though,” Minho tries to explain. “It’s just temporary so I can get Jeongin out.”

“We’re not letting you do this,” Hyunjin says sternly.

“And who says we can get you out after?” Chaewon adds. “Look, I know today has been stressful, but you are clearly not thinking straight.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Chaewon,” Minho says sharply. “Jeongin is perfectly capable of taking my place for as long as it takes.”

“This isn’t about who takes the crown!” Eric snaps. Everyone surrounding him instinctively takes a step back. “Jeongin would hate this, you know that.”

“Actually, I don’t, considering the fact that he’s floating five feet away from me with his life hanging by a thread and can’t give me his input. So, either you let this happen or I order you to.”

“You don’t get to do that.” Eric’s voice is low. “We’re talking to our friend, not our prince.”

Even Seungmin was getting involved. “Minho, I know you’re desperate, but _please_ think about this in the long term.”

Minho looks to Chaewon and Felix for help. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do this for the other.”

The twins looked conflicted, but before they could answer, Hyunjin whirls on him. “Don’t let him get you to sympathize.”

He then looks back to Minho. “Everyone, even Felix and Eric, is upset with you. If that doesn’t tell you that putting yourself in a potentially permanent magic coma is a bad idea, I don’t know what will.”

Minho shakes his head, feeling his eyes well up. His voice is raw and ragged as he replies.“I told you I’d get Jeongin back no matter what. We need a life and we can’t just sacrifice someone, so what do you expect me to do?”

“What if it gets an endless life?”

Jisung’s voice cuts through the silence. He is still off to the side as he looks to Vivi. “What happens if you put my life in it?”

Vivi and Chanhee, who were content just observing what was going on, looked at him in surprise.

“There are two options, and I have no idea which is more likely,” Vivi begins. “Either the gem takes your life and you take the prince’s place, or…” Vivi scowls. “The gem takes your life and curse and both you and Prince Jeongin wake up completely fine.”

Seungmin steps forward. “Does that mean…?”

“His curse will be lifted and he will no longer be immortal,” Vivi finishes. “Maybe.”

Jisung shrugs. “Works for me.”

He starts to head towards Vivi, but is stopped by Minho grabbing his hand.

“You’re not doing this.”

Jisung scoffs. “Really? _You’re_ going to tell me this? Did you forget the argument you just had?”

“I’m doing this for my brother.”

“I’m doing it for him too,” Jisung says. He tightens his hold on Minho’s hand. “And I’m doing it for you too. Best of all, I’m doing it for me and this stupid curse too.”

“But there’s a chance it doesn’t work. I don’t want to risk losing you too.”

Minho saw a flash of the Jisung he was used to as Jisung smiles and puts a hand on the prince’s cheek. “I’m conflicted, Your Majesty. Hypocrisy is not a good look on you, but favoritism is.”

“As touching as all of this is, you’re forgetting one thing,” Vivi interrupts. She locks eyes with Jisung. “I’m not lifting your curse.”

“But—” Eric cuts himself off when he sees Chanhee glare at him.

“Your Highness, my parents are gone. You said so yourself that they dragged me into this. There’s no use continuing this revenge,” Jisung pleads. “Let me try this.”

“This entire situation is because your parents couldn’t keep their hands to themselves,” Vivi says. “Prince Jeongin wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for them.”

“Um, Your Highness.” Seungmin takes a step forward, awkwardly raising a hand like he was asking permission to speak. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you value the Vitality Gem quite a lot, yes?”

“I do,” Vivi replies.

“And if Jisung’s plan works, would it be correct to assume that the gem will be fixed since it has a permanent life?”

“You’d be correct,” Vivi answers, growing suspicious.

“And am I correct to assume that you value the gem far more than maintaining a 12 year long revenge?”

The pieces click into place as Vivi stares at Seungmin, stumped. Seungmin had managed to outwit the most powerful person in the room right now with straightforward logic, and she didn’t look pleased.

She lets out a sigh. “You’re right. I don’t like it, but you’re right.” She turns to Jisung. “If it works, it works. I won’t interfere.”

“Great, now that that’s out of the way,” Seungmin turns to Jisung. “You’re not doing this.”

“You just vouched for me!” Jisung says incredulously.

“It didn't sit well with me knowing she was still mad at nothing,” Seungmin explains. “Now that she knows that, maybe she can be convinced to lift the curse in a different way.”

“I’m with Seungmin. We can figure something else out,” Felix says.

The others all group together behind Minho, and Jisung looks at them all fondly.

“You’re all good friends. You know that, right?” He squeezes Minho’s hand and looks at him. “Except you.”

Suddenly, Jisung cups Minho’s face and pulls him into a kiss. Before Minho could even grab him and hold him closer, Jisung pulls away and presses their foreheads together.

“We’ll talk soon, Your Majesty.”

He shoves Minho back hard, and Eric has to keep him from stumbling and falling. Jisung turns around to head towards Vivi and Jeongin.

“JISUNG!”

Minho and the others try to run forward, but are stopped as Chanhee raises an arm and vines begin to shoot out from the ground and surround them like a cage.

Vivi holds the Vitality Gem over Jeongin’s body with one hand and places the other on top of Jisung’s head. She says something to him, he nods, and her hands begin to glow. The gem lights up green as Jisung hits the ground.

For the second time that day, Minho was forced to watch Jisung die, not knowing if he was going to get up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long stretch of silence follows, and Minho’s grip on Jeongin’s hand weakens. He could feel his throat closing up and his eyes filling with tears as he shouts. “JUST WAKE UP, INNIE! This is such a bullshit way to go and you know it!” He feels his shoulders shake as he continues. “You’re supposed to stick with me and drag me out of the castle when you think I’m being too antisocial. You’re supposed to be right next to me when I’m crowned king and give me advice when I’m too stressed to think clearly and call me an idiot. You’re supposed to get in trouble and beg me to cover for you and bribe me even though I would do it without the bribe. You’re supposed to tease me with Chaewon and go stargazing with Hyunjin and steal food from the kitchen with Eric and dress up my cats with Felix. You’re supposed to wake up and continue to pester Seungmin. You’re… you’re supposed to reunite with Jisung and get your toy back. You won’t be able to do any of this if you don’t wake up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait BUT we have reached the end! all that's left is the epilogue and the story will be complete :]

“Everyone get behind me,” Hyunjin says.

Minho, who was wordlessly staring at Jeongin and Jisung’s body, feels himself get pulled to the back of the cage behind Hyunjin.

Hyunjin lifts his bow up and pulls an arrow out from his quiver, and Minho notices how it is one of the ones Chan enchanted, although he couldn’t recall what it did.

Hyunjin backs up until his back is pressed against everyone and pulls the arrow back, shooting the ground right in front of the cage.

A mound of dirt erupts from the ground and tears through the vine cage, allowing everyone to escape.

Without hesitation, they run towards Jisung and Jeongin with Minho in the lead.

“Wait!” Vivi shouts, putting a hand up to stop them. “Don’t touch them yet.”

The group freezes in place, slowly backing up. Minho feels blood pumping in his ears as his eyes dart between Jeongin and Jisung, waiting for them to start moving.

A minute passes before Vivi speaks up, looking disappointed. “It seems like your boys are not — ”

A cough interrupts her as Jisung rolls on his side and continues to hack up a lung, trying to catch his breath.

“The last time I come back to life and it’s not even in a cool way? This is bullsh — ”

Jisung is cut off as Minho throws himself at him, knocking him to the ground with a hug. Soon enough, his friends follow and pile themselves on top of the two in a group hug.

“Can’t breathe. Won’t come back this time,” Jisung chokes out.

Everyone but Minho quickly stands, giving Jisung a moment to catch his breath. Minho and Jisung sit up, with Minho keeping his arms wrapped around Jisung’s neck. The happy moment quickly fades as Minho looks up to see Jeongin, still unconscious.

Minho lets go of Jisung and walks up to Jeongin, holding his hand tightly with both of his.

“Come on,” Minho mutters. “I’ve never said this to you, but  _ please. _ I’m begging you.”

A long stretch of silence follows, and Minho’s grip on Jeongin’s hand weakens. He could feel his throat closing up and his eyes filling with tears as he shouts. “JUST WAKE UP, INNIE! This is such a bullshit way to go and you know it!” He feels his shoulders shake as he continues. “You’re supposed to stick with me and drag me out of the castle when you think I’m being too antisocial. You’re supposed to be right next to me when I’m crowned king and give me advice when I’m too stressed to think clearly and call me an idiot. You’re supposed to get in trouble and beg me to cover for you and bribe me even though I would do it without the bribe. You’re supposed to tease me with Chaewon and go stargazing with Hyunjin and steal food from the kitchen with Eric and dress up my cats with Felix. You’re supposed to wake up and continue to pester Seungmin. You’re… you’re supposed to reunite with Jisung and get your toy back. You won’t be able to do any of this if you don’t  _ wake up.” _

“Minho,” Hyunjin whispers. “Step back for a second.”

As much as Minho wants to stay next to Jeongin, he knew that if he didn’t step back now, he would be impossible to pry him away later.

He lets go of Jeongin’s hand and turns around to walk away, but is stopped when he feels a hand roughly grab his coat. Thinking it’s either Vivi or Chanhee, he swats the hand away and angrily turns around, but his anger dissipates the moment he sees who grabbed him.

Propping himself up on his elbow, arm outstretched, was Jeongin, half awake and looking at Minho, confused.

“Why are you crying?”

Without a word, Minho grabs the front of Jeongin’s shirt, pulls him into a tight hug, and sobs into his shoulder.

“Why are you crying?” Jeongin asks again, this time more distressed. “What did I do?”

That snaps Minho out of it as he pulls back, wipes his tears away, and grabs Jeongin’s ear, pulling on it hard.

“AH!” Jeongin shouts.

“You sneak out of the castle, go through a death trap to meet a witch, get into the Ninth Realm, touch a broken magic gem, fall into a magical death coma thing, our friends and I then risk our lives looking for you, the guy I’m in love with nearly permanently dies in order to wake you up, and you have the  _ audacity _ to ask me why I’m distressed?”

“What was that about you being in love with someone?”

Minho tugs on his ear harder. “This isn’t about me!”

“OW, OW, OW, OKAY!” Jeongin cries. “You mentioned our friends, so where’s everyone else?”

Minho lets go of his ear and steps aside, allowing Hyunjin, Felix, Chaewon, and Eric to crowd around him.

“You are so grounded when we get home,” Felix says, wrapping his arms around Jeongin’s neck.

Chaewon pinches his cheek and looks at him with a loving expression. “I’m so happy right now, but you’re dead once the euphoria disappears.”

“Please never do that again,” Hyunjin says, looking close to tears.

“Are you feeling okay?” Eric asks, putting his hand on Jeongin’s knee. “You were sort of dead for a while.”

“I feel completely fine,” Jeongin replies. He turns to Vivi, who was staring at Jeongin in awe. “Did you wake me up, Your Highness?”

“Not without him.” Vivi nods to Jisung, who was still sitting on the ground.

Jisung looks to Minho. “Am I supposed to bow now?”

Minho shakes his head. “Don’t boost his ego.”

Jisung stands up and approaches Jeongin. “Um, hello, Your Majesty. Oh, that’s weird to say to anyone else.” Jisung sticks his hand out and Jeongin hesitantly shakes it. “I let the queen kill me so I can give up my immortality and save you. Also, I’m Han Jisung. Hello.”

Minho softly laughs as he watches Jisung introduce himself, which causes Jeongin to look at his brother suspiciously. He looks back and forth between the two as the pieces begin to fall into place.

“Really?” Jeongin says to Minho. “A blond?”

Before either of them can reply, Jeongin turns back to Jisung. “I don’t think a simple thank you is enough for what you did for me. I’ll be in your debt forever.”

Jisung waves his hands and shakes his head. “No, no, you really don’t need to do all this.”

“I’m serious,” Jeongin says earnestly. “The second we leave here is when the debt repayment begins.”

“I know you just woke up, but did you forget where you are?” Vivi interrupts. She looks to them all, unimpressed. “You knew what you were risking when you came here.”

A chill goes down Minho’s spine as he looks to everyone, only for their petrified expressions to match theirs. They were so caught up with Jeongin and Jisung’s lives that they forgot what their final problem would be.

Minho takes a step forward. “Your Highness — ”

“The twins can show you around before they receive their punishment for returning,” Vivi interrupts. She looks at the gem in her hand, frustrated. “I’m a bit preoccupied right now.”

“All I ask if for you to reconsider — ”

Chanhee interrupts this time. “There is nothing to reconsider. You have two faes with you, so you definitely know the rules of this world. Be grateful that you can at least spend your time with your brother.”

Minho holds back another plea. Unfortunately, they were right, and everyone knew it. They didn’t have the luxury of trying to be diplomatic when they were the outsiders. At the very least, Minho had a new mission, and that was to protect Felix and Chaewon from whatever punishment Vivi said they would get.

He looks back at his friends for any assistance, but they were all staring at him expectedly, waiting for him to make the next move. He looks at Chaewon and Felix’s faces and feels his heart sink when he sees how pale they’ve gotten.

He walks up to them and puts a hand on their shoulders, rubbing them softly in an attempt to soothe them. He leans in close.

“I’m not letting anything happen to you two,” he whispers.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Chaewon whispers back. “It’s too risky here.”

“Um.” Felix’s voice wavers as he speaks, and he looks past Minho as he continues. “I don’t think this is the brother we should be concerned about.”

Minho turns and sees Jeongin, who has now gotten up from his bed, walking over to Vivi, who had her back turned to everyone and was muttering to herself, one hand holding the Vitality Gem and the other glowing above it.

“Jeongin, what are you — ”

Minho’s breath hitches as Jeongin, almost as if he was in a trance, walks up to Vivi and takes the gem from her hands.

The queen’s face instantly twists into anger, but it is quickly replaced with horror once she sees who grabbed it.

Vivi moves to catch Jeongin, but surprisingly, the gem does not knock him out once again, and he does not fall.

The moment Jeongin grabbed the gem, it began to glow, but unlike when Vivi was using it, it was not a dim green light, but instead a bright white.

“What are you doing?” Minho asks, panicked. He looks over to Vivi. “What is he doing? Is he okay?”

“I don’t understand,” Felix says. “Why isn’t he passing out again?”

Vivi and the rest remain speechless as Jeongin plops down on the soft grass and lifts the gem over the grass.

For a moment, nothing happens, but suddenly the gem glows brighter and from the grass grows a small, but still blooming daisy.

“Oh my goodness,” Vivi whispers.

She takes the gem back and crouches next to Jeongin, mimicking what he did, causing a large rose to grow from the ground.

“You fixed it,” she whispers in disbelief. She turns and grabs his shoulders in excitement, smiling wide. “You fixed it!”

Taking this as his cue to move, Minho rushes to Jeongin and kneels next to him.

“Are you okay? You’re not tired or anything, right?”

“I’m fine,” Jeongin replies. He then turns to Vivi. “I’m sorry for taking it from you, but I could sense that something was wrong, and for some reason, I felt like I needed to take it. I felt connected to it somehow.”

“Probably because of what happened to you,” Vivi muttered. She waves a hand before taking both of Jeongin’s in hers, clasping it tightly. “I owe you an enormous favour for fixing the gem. Words cannot describe how vital it is to the Ninth Realm and I. Whatever you ask, I will deliver.”

Jeongin raises an eyebrow at Vivi, which catches Minho’s attention. He turns to look at his friends, who were all looking at Jeongin suspiciously. He was up to something, and Minho wasn't sure if it would end well.

Jeongin smiles sweetly at her, but Minho has seen that smile far too many times in his life, and it normally preceded Minho getting in trouble at home as a child for something Jeongin did.

“This is quite the burden, but I do have something in mind.”

“What is it? I swear on this land that I will comply to the best of my abilities.”

And just like that, everything slid into place for Jeongin.

“Then I am sure that it is within your ability to allow my friends and I to leave and have you use the gem to restore the crops in our kingdom.”

Vivi's jaw goes slack as she drops Jeongin’s hands.

“Obviously you will take the gem back and return home once you are done,” Jeongin continues, ignoring the queen’s reaction. “It will only take a few minutes, and I will inform my parents beforehand if you want.”

“Is that allowed?” Jisung appears next to Minho, quietly whispering to him.

“I have no clue,” Minho whispers back. “But he’s pushing it right now.”

Vivi scowls as Jeongin as she stands. “You know it goes against the rules — ”

“Unless you grant special permission, right?” Jeongin interrupts. He stands and smiles at her, revelling in the moment. “You, the all-powerful queen of the Ninth Realm, give special permission to faes to leave and come back for important work. Surely this means you can let us all leave and not return, right? You’ll only be doing half the work.”

Vivi looks at Jeongin in awe, and she looks both bitter and impressed with what she was faced with. “You’ve done your research.”

“You can thank our mutual friend for answering all my questions.”

Seungmin looked frightened as everyone turned to him.

“I was just making sure he wouldn’t do something stupid.”

“And I didn’t!”

Eric opens his mouth. “Well — ”

“As I was saying!” Jeongin interrupts. He looks back to Vivi. “You swore on this land,  _ your _ land, Your Highness. I believe you are stubborn, but not stupid. Keeping us here where we can easily tell people what happened would not be a smart move.”

“I could always just lock you up,” Vivi counters.

“You’re not that cruel. Besides, we’re all pretty annoying. Don’t subject yourself to that.”

“Why do you assume you know where my morals lie?”

“Because from what I have seen so far, you never did anything unless it made sense,” Jeongin responds. “There was no reason to attack me when I arrived, so you didn’t. There was no good reason to leave me to die, so you tried to heal me. As you said, I did my research, and people say you are kind before you are cruel. There is no good reason to go back on your word, especially after what I did for you, which is why I am confident that you’ll comply with my simple request.”

“He’s going to get himself killed again,” Minho mutters, clearly on edge.

Jisung raises his arm in front of Minho, stopping him from moving forward. “Give him a second.”

Vivi clenches her fists, staring at the ground. For a moment, Minho’s confidence in his brother wavers. Maybe all his smart-talking only angered her, and she was going to wipe them all out without a second thought.

But as Jeongin said, she was kind before she was cruel, and she did not act without reason. Jeongin read her like an open book, which is why it did not surprise the younger prince when she sighs and turns to Chanhee, giving him new instructions.

“They have my blessing. Take them to the exit, including the two deserters.” She then looks back at Jeongin. “You tell the king and queen our plan, and have Seungmin inform me when I should arrive.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Jeongin says confidently, bowing to her.

Snapping out of his daze, Minho and the others quickly bow too.

“Your kindness will not be forgotten,” Minho adds, keeping his voice steady.

“Just tell your brother to be careful if he wants to get smart with others,” Vivi says. “Not everyone can appreciate it the way I do.”

Minho just silently nods.

“Come on.” Chanhee leads the way back out through the forest, and everyone remains silent the whole time, not wanting to risk all the work Jeongin did with one slip up.

Minho stays in the back, one hand holding Jeongin’s while the other reaches towards Jisung’s, but at the last second, he pulls away. First, they get out, then he deals with his brother, and then his relationship problems.

Chanhee approaches the trees they came from and puts a hand to it, his hand glowing against the bark.

“I better not see any of you back here,” he says sternly, watching the trees form an archway. “You all got lucky, don’t forget that. If the little prince wasn’t here you all would be stuck here until your deaths.” He glances over at Jisung. “Or fifth death, I guess.”

“You think I’ve only died five times?” Jisung asks, incredulously. “I literally died twice today.”

“This sounds like something you need to work on.”

The archway opens up and Chanhee gestures towards it. “Now get out. Her Highness will be in contact with you soon.”

With the subtlety of a child trying to sneak out of the kitchen after stealing some treats, everyone nearly sprinted out of the Ninth Realm, saying a short goodbye to Chanhee as they left.

The moment they step out of the archway and back on the trail where their cart was, Jisung lets out a scream.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE GOT OUT!”

Eric falls to his knees and puts his face in his hands. “We should not be alive. How are we alive?”

Minho squeezes Jeongin’s hand, turning to face him. “Are you out of your mind!? That was incredibly risky and we all could’ve died.”

Jeongin, who was smiling just a moment before, scowls at his brother. To Minho’s surprise, he pulls his hand away, hard. “A ‘thank you’ would be nice, especially considering how  _ I’m _ the one who got us out.”

Almost instantly, the tension between the two grew almost unbearable.

Minho frowns. “Seungmin told us how he told you to watch what you say around her, but you weren’t being careful.”

“So what if I wasn’t? I didn’t see you doing anything useful.”

“Because I didn’t want to risk anything in case it backfired in the future.”

Jeongin rolls his eyes and throws his arms up in the air. “You’re always so concerned with things that  _ could _ go wrong that you never think about things that could go right. This is exactly why I didn’t tell you I was leaving.”

Minho stares at his brother in shock as the others stand around awkwardly, not wanting to intervene. He reaches a hand out towards him.

“You know I support you — ”

Jeongin points a finger at Minho. “And you always do until you decide that things are too much for me — no —for  _ you. _ You have faith in me until you decide that  _ you _ are done and decide to suffocate me under the guise of caring because  _ you _ are too insecure in your own choices.”

“I think we should get back to my place,” Seungmin loudly interrupts. “You guys can stay the night and head out in the morning.”

The two brothers stare at each other for a moment before Jeongin clenches his jaw and heads towards one of the horses. Minho tries to follow him, but Felix puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him before heading towards the other horse.

Minho, Jisung, Eric, Chaewon, and Seungmin all sit in the cart silently, not daring to say a word the whole trip. At one point, Felix turns to Jeongin to try and speak to him, but doesn’t utter a word once he sees how tightly Jeongin is holding the reins.

As for Minho, he was doing his best not to make eye contact with anyone and burst into tears.

He thought everything was perfect. He had his brother back alive and well, they got out of the Ninth Realm, all his friends were unharmed, and Jisung even got rid of his curse. Everything was supposed to be perfect, and everything was, except for him.

He and Jeongin bicker a lot, just like all siblings do, but those fights never carried any weight. The only problem the two had was whenever it came to Jeongin having some responsibility in the castle.

Their parents were the ones in charge, and Minho contributed as he is next in line for the throne, leaving Jeongin with no big obligations besides behaving in the way a prince should, which he did flawlessly. Having no obligations meant, to Minho, that Jeongin had so little experience when it came to the struggles of working in the royal family, so why shouldn’t he tell him to be careful when he wants to help? Why was it a bad thing to want to protect his brother from things going wrong?

The rest of the ride was silent, with only the sounds of the leaves on trees rustling in the wind to interrupt the silence. One they finally arrived at Seungmin’s house was when someone finally spoke. Surprisingly, it was Jeongin.

“My bag was left behind, so I don’t have any extra clothes,” he explains.

“I’ll give you some of mine,” Seungmin replies.

“You can leave them in Eric and I’s room,” Hyunjin says, grabbing Jeongin’s arm. “You’re staying with us since we have the biggest bed.”

Jisung opens his mouth to say something, but Chaewon stomps on his foot to silence him.

“I’m washing up first,” she says, taking the lead.

Seungmin grabs the reins of the horses and begins to head towards the back of the house.

“Go ahead without me. You guys know where everything is.”

Hyunjin takes Jeongin inside, with Felix and Eric following close behind. Jisung moves to follow them, but stops once he sees Minho standing still.

The two lock eyes before Jisung gestures to Seungmin’s garden.

“Let’s go sit.”

He reaches over and takes Minho’s hand, leading him over to the fountain they sat at the previous day, and Minho lets himself be taken without protest.

It was like every time Minho wished to talk with Jisung about whatever relationship change they had, something else came up.

It wasn’t like it was a problem, especially considering the fact that it had to do with Jeongin, but it was definitely strange to be around the guy who kissed him and not discussing it at all.

The two sit in silence for a moment before Jisung finally breaks the silence.

“I didn’t know you two were like that.”

“It’s the only problem we have,” Minho mutters, looking down at his lap. “The night we met, I said that I always shut him down.”

Jisung shrugs. “Seems like a pretty big problem, but it’s honestly not the end of the world.”

Minho looks up, confused as to why Jisung wasn’t shunning him right now. “What are you talking about?”

“Throughout this trip, you gave me this weirdly perfect image of you and your brother’s relationship, but siblings fight, it’s normal. At least yours is an argument and you don’t try to kill each other or something.”

“I feel like there’s a story there.”

“I’ll let you meet Sooyoung and Hyejoo one day, but you’re getting off track.” Jisung turns to face Minho. “Just talk to him and explain yourself.”

“And say what? That he’s right?” Minho stood up and began pacing. “Actually, I’ll tell him that he’s half right, and it’s actually worse. I not only trust  _ my _ choices, but his too since I can’t help but be a third parent to him sometimes and think he has no experience.”

“Okay, so this is worse than I thought,” Jisung says as he stands. He steps in front of Minho, stopping him from pacing, and puts his hands on his shoulders. “Alright, we’ll deal with the easier problem first. This was a very bad experience, right?”

Minho stares into Jisung’s eyes. “Not all of it.”

Jisung blushes but continues on. “The night we met, you assumed he didn’t trust you and left. If you don’t want to experience something like this, you have to start letting him have more responsibility.”

“But what if — ”

“And now onto the second problem.” Jisung narrows his eyes and speaks bluntly. “Enough with the what-ifs. You think you’re being realistic by being safe when in reality, life being uncertain is what’s realistic. What’s not realistic is you trying to predict every little detail. You’re going to burn yourself out one day.”

Minho couldn’t help but remember Hyunjin’s words as Jisung spoke.

_ “And what good is that doing for you? Have you noticed what you’re like around him? You’re so disgustingly happy when you’re talking to him like you guys are in your own world. Why won’t you let yourself have this one good thing?” _

It wasn’t fair to Jeongin to have Minho constantly hovering over his shoulder and holding him back. They weren’t kids anymore where all of Minho’s actions were excusable because he was so young. He can’t play the big brother role he was used to. He had to change things.

_ “You’re going to burn yourself out one day.” _ Jisung had a point, because not only was it not fair to Jeongin, but it wasn’t fair to Minho either.

Allowing himself to be stressed over nothing not only made others miserable, but himself as well. It’s shameful that it took nearly losing his brother to realize this, but it was a wake-up call. Jeongin deserves to be happy, Jisung deserves to be happy, his friends deserve to be happy, and most of all, Minho wants himself to be happy to, and that’s why he needed to start changing things.

“You’re right, and so is Hyunjin. This isn’t going to go anywhere.”

Jisung tilts his head to the side, confused. “What did you talk to Hyunjin about?”

Realizing his slip up, Minho awkwardly smiles and sits back down. “Just a few things. Relying on others, holding myself back, not realizing my own feelings.” He rushes that last part.

Jisung laughs as he sits down next to him, closer than before, and leans towards him.

“And? How did that go?”

Minho attempts to look at Jisung angrily, but the blush quickly forming on his cheeks does nothing but make him look as least intimidating as possible.

“Take a guess, genius.”

Jisung has a smug grin in his face as he replies. “I don’t think it’s right to assume things about others, wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”

Minho wasn’t sure what came over him. Maybe it was a need for payback, maybe it was to wipe that grin off of Jisung’s face, or maybe it was the fact that their faces were an inch apart from each other. Whatever the reason was, it pushed Minho to grab Jisung’s face and pulling him into a kiss, breaking away just as Jisung realized what had happened.

“Thanks for the talk,” Minho says to a stunned Jisung. “I’m going to go find my brother now.”

Minho gets up and begins walking away just as Jisung snaps back to reality.

“WH — YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT!” Jisung shouts.

Minho doesn’t even bother turning around as he raises a hand and lifts his middle finger.

“You did it first, asshole!”

Feeling far more confident than when he arrived, Minho enters Seungmin’s house and searches for his friends, finding all but Hyunjin and Jeongin in the kitchen.

Seungmin and Felix are standing off to the side as Eric and Chaewon cut up fruit, and he watches as Chaewon smacks Felix’s hand away every time he tries to reach for a strawberry.

“Hey, uh, where’s Jeongin?”

“Last I saw, Hyunjin was talking to him upstairs,” Eric replies. “Are you sure you want to go?”

“Definitely,” Minho answers.

“Don’t come back downstairs unless everything is sorted out,” Chaewon says. “None of us like it when you fight, and I feel like this isn’t something you’ll get over and forget about in a day.”

“If you need to get Hyunjin out, just tell him I want to talk to him,” Felix says.

Seungmin gives him a thumbs up. “Good luck. Don’t break anything or I’ll feed you to my plants.”

With that, Minho heads upstairs towards the room Eric and Hyunjin stayed in last time. He takes a deep breath and, before he can psych himself out, knocks on the door.

“Yeah?” Hyunjin’s voice calls out.

Minho opens the door and peeks his head in, seeing Jeongin lying down on the bed and Hyunjin sitting at the foot of it.

Jeongin glares at his brother as Hyunjin’s eyes widen, looking between the two of them frantically.

“You need something?” Hyunjin asks, his voice on edge.

“Felix asked me to get you,” Minho replies, glancing at Jeongin.

“Okay… let’s go—”

“Actually, I’m going to stay,” Minho says, hoping Hyunjin would take the hint.

Luckily, he did, and Hyunjin was more than happy to race out of the tense room.

“Okay then! Later!”

Minho enters the room, shutting the door behind him and looking to Jeongin.

“Can we talk?”

“Unless it’s an apology, I don’t want to hear it,” Jeongin answers, not even looking at Minho as he stares up at the ceiling. “After 18 years you’d think you’d get tired of keeping me on a short leash. Is it that difficult to trust me  _ and _ you? How are you going to lead a country like this?”

“It is, actually. An apology.”

Jeongin sits up at that, looking surprised, and Minho could see how glassy his eyes were. “Really?”

Minho moves towards the bed and sits on the edge, making sure to give Jeongin his own space.

“Yes, really. I’m sorry not just for today, but for every single time I stopped you from taking on any responsibility. I let my distrust in myself and my overprotectiveness of you hold you back. You’re an adult now, and I need to let you start acting like it.”

Silence follows Minho’s apology before Jeongin speaks.

“I’m sorry too,” he says, surprisingly, his voice breaking slightly. “I shouldn’t have been so harsh. I know you care for me and after the stress of today, everything that I’ve bottled up for so long came out and I snapped.”

“It’s ok—”

“But it’s not!” Jeongin interrupts, growing frustrated. “I want you to start trusting me and that can’t happen if I’m being childish.”

“Jeongin, I don’t expect you to be perfect, especially right away. You’re allowed to fuck up.” Minho reaches over and pulls Jeongin into a hug, holding him tightly. “ _ You’re _ the one who got us all out of the Ninth Realm. None of us understood Vivi the way you did, so don’t start thinking you need to change everything about you, because you have a special something that the rest of us lack, and I should be letting you use it and grow, not making you hide it away.”

Jeongin hugs him back, laughing quietly. “Who are you and what have you done with my high strung brother?”

“This trip to get you back was… a lot to say the least. Hyunjin put a lot of things into perspective. Jisung too.”

Jeongin pulls back from the hug and looks at Minho. “Okay, I didn’t want to ask while he was still around and I was in a bad mood, but now I have to ask. Who the fuck is that guy?”

Minho bursts out laughing, falling back onto the bed.

“I’ll explain from the beginning.”

* * *

“Your boyfriend is the assassin who broke into my room that you tried to kill?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

_ “That’s _ the problem with the sentence?”

Minho shoves Jeongin’s shoulder. “Did you not pay attention to the rest of the story? A lot of things changed.”

“I did, I did, I just wanted to bug you,” Jeongin replies. “So why isn’t he your boyfriend yet?”

“We, uh, we haven’t talked about it yet.”

“Seems like you had a lot of time to talk when you slept togeth—”

Minho kicks Jeongin’s back, knocking him off the bed. “Don’t say it like that! You should talk to him too, anyway. He has your fox plushie.”

“What do you mean he has my…” Jeongin’s eyes went wide as the memory came back to him.

He gets up and rushes out of the guest room, stomping down the stairs and into the kitchen where Jisung eventually ended up after his talk with Minho. For a moment, everyone holds their breath, afraid that the two brothers are still fighting, but lets out a sigh of relief once they see that Minho is following behind and laughing.

Jeongin points an accusatory finger towards Jisung and opens his mouth before turning to Minho.

“What’s his last name again?” he whispers.

“Han,” Minho answers.

“Okay.” He turns back to Jisung angrily. “Han Jisung, would you care to explain to me  _ why _ you still have my fox?”

Jisung blinks at the prince, confused, until he gasps in realization and opens his bag, pulling out the toy, which only makes Jeongin angrier.

“I told you to return it the next time you see me and I walk around the village all the time. You could’ve returned it at any time but you didn’t, which means you stole it from me.”

Jisung raises his hands in surrender. “I wanted to return it, but I was scared! You always had guards around you and after a while, I just assumed you forgot.”

Jeongin snatches the toy back. “Well, I didn’t. After a while, I hoped to see you again just so I could get my revenge.”

“You stewed in anger for eight years over this?” Jisung asks bluntly.

“Yes.”

Jisung holds back a laugh. “So what’s the revenge?”

“Well, you died for my brother and I, so I’d say we’re even.”

“Two of my lives are equal to this toy?”

Jeongin narrows his eyes and hugs the toy. “It’s worth far more lives. I’m just being kind.”

“Thank goodness Minho’s taking the throne,” Seungmin mutters under his breath. “So, are you two good now? Can we stop pretending like we don’t know you’re fighting?”

Minho swings an arm over Jeongin’s shoulders and squeezes him. “Everything’s fine. For real this time.”

“Perfect!” Eric grabs a bowl from the cabinet and fills it with the cut up fruit before handing it to Felix. “Let’s eat and talk.”

Now seated at the dining table, they all began to discuss the next step.

“All of you can rest when we get back since there’s not really anything else for you to do,” Minho says. “Jeongin and I will talk to our parents about the agreement with Vivi, and they’ll most likely agree to it considering we went through all this effort.”

“Are you coming with us?” Jeongin suddenly asks Seungmin.

Seungmin shrugs. “Probably not. I did my job and helped get you out.”

“Aww,” Felix says with a frown. “Are you sure? I want to spend time with you when we’re not in a time sensitive situation.”

Seungmin’s face turns red when he sees Felix pout. “I mean I said ‘probably not’ not ‘definitely not’ so if you would like it then…”

As Felix begins to excitedly explain what he hopes to do with Seungmin once they get back home, Jeongin leans over to Minho, looking at the two suspiciously.

“You didn’t tell me about  _ this,” _ Jeongin whispers to Minho, sounding offended.

From the other side of Minho, Jisung leans over and whispers to Jeongin.

“He only told you about me, didn’t he? I’ll tell you about them later.”

Minho remains stuck in the middle as their conversation continues.

“Yeah, he did, which I don’t care about anymore because Felix having a love life is  _ way _ more interesting.”

“I know, right? It sure is interesting when you can tell that  _ both _ parties are interested.”

Great. His brother and potential boyfriend have unionized against him.

“I kissed you, what’s not clicking?” Minho hisses at Jisung.

“You kissed Jisung?” Chaewon asks, and Minho quickly realizes that he said that when the other conversation died down and everyone was quietly listening to them.

“Back at the Ninth Realm, remember?” Eric answers.

“That was Jisung kissing Minho,” Hyunjin says. “Minho is implying there was a second time we don’t know about.”

“There was a second time?” Felix asks.

“You can actually make a move?” Seungmin adds.

“Can we  _ please _ get back on track?” Minho desperately pleads.

“We talk to mom and dad and everyone else goes and rests in the castle. Not much else to figure out,” Jeongin says.

“I won’t go to the castle right away,” Jisung suddenly says, gaining everyone’s attention.

“I need to go tell Chan everything,” he continues. “Then, I need to go home and tell Eunbi I’m alive before she leads a search party for me. After that, I need to tell everyone at home the truth about everything.”

“Just swing by whenever,” Minho replies. “Our doors are always open for you.”

Minho would never admit it, but the thought of Jisung visiting whenever he wants and seeing him every day, either at home or in the village, made him feel giddy. He wanted to say that something as simple as spending time with him was a dumb thing to get excited over, but it wasn’t dumb. He just felt so happy, and he wants to continue feeling like this.

The rest of the day was spent serenely, jumping between casual conversations as Jeongin caught up with what he missed and getting to know Jisung and Seungmin more and cooking in the kitchen. At one point, Seungmin pulled Jeongin aside to discuss his magic with him, running through different tests.

As Vivi said, there wasn’t anything powerful to it, but the items around Seungmin’s house did subtly react to Jeongin, and they learned that the hard way when one of his enchanted potted plants wilted right in front of them.

Jeongin proceeded to be banned from that part of the house.

As the sun sets and the exhaustion of the day’s events catches up to everyone all at once, Minho finds himself standing in front of his and Jisung’s room, waiting to see what would happen next.

With everyone already in their rooms, there were a few possibilities. He would room with both Jeongin and Jisung, just Jeongin, or just Jisung, and he was praying that it wouldn’t be the first option. He wouldn’t be able to handle how awkward it would be.

As Jeongin walks up the stairs, Minho turns to him.

“So are you—”

“Oh, I’m not setting foot in that damn room,” Jeongin interrupts. He enters Eric and Hyunjin’s room and pokes his head out one last time. “Night, losers.”

He shuts the door behind him before Minho can reply, leaving him alone in the hallway with Jisung.

“I think losing my immortality has made me stupidly tired. Want to head to bed?” Jisung asks, choosing to ignore Jeongin’s teasing.

“I think dying would do that to you, but yes, I’m exhausted too,” Minho replies, entering the room.

Unlike last time, there was no awkward air as they laid down, choosing to face each other immediately.

“So,” Jisung says.

“So,” Minho repeats back to him.

“Are you happy?” Jisung suddenly asks, catching Minho off guard.

“I…” Minho takes a deep breath and smiles. A wave of relief washes over him as he realizes that he doesn’t have to think too hard to respond. “I think so? Everything worked out perfectly. Jeongin saved the kingdom, you broke your curse, I have my brother, my friends, and you all in one piece.”

“I don’t count as a friend?” Jisung teases.

Minho rolls his eyes and turns over, facing away from Jisung. “You know, the more you tease me about it, the longer I’ll delay our conversation.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Jisung swings an arm over Minho’s waist and pulls him into a hug, holding him close. “I’m sorryyyyyy.”

“Too late, we’re not talking until we get back home. Also,” Minho pats the arm wrapped around him, “I never realized how small you are. Turn around.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Jisung lets him go and rolls over. Minho then turns over and wraps both his arms around Jisung, pulling him in so tightly that there was no space left between them.

“This feels better,” Minho whispers into Jisung’s ear.

Jisung melts into his embrace, placing his hands over Minho’s.

“I think I'm happy too, by the way,” Jisung whispers. “Sweet dreams, Your Majesty.”

Their whispers carry them to sleep, and it is the first time Minho truly feels at peace in days.

“Minho.”

“What?”

“My name sounds nice coming from you.”

“Well then, sweet dreams, Minho.”

“Sweet dreams, Jisung.”

* * *

With the anxiety following him the entire trip to Seungmin’s house, it’s a shock to Minho when he realizes that the two day trip home went by in what felt like the blink of an eye. The others filled Jeongin in on everything Minho left out, ranging from Jacob’s grim card reading, which they all now realized was about Jisung, to gossiping about Felix and Seungmin while they were asleep.

The cart stops just at the edge of the village, right by Chan’s shop. Jisung hops out and looks at the group, giving them a little bow.

“My condolences, as you are now about to experience a Jisungless world, even if it is only temporary.”

“I wish I didn’t pass up on your offer to kill you,” Hyunjin says.

“And now you will live with that regret for the rest of your life.” He winks at Minho. “I’ll see you all later.”

With that, Jisung skips into Chan’s shop.

_ “What _ do you see in him?” Jeongin asks, exasperated.

Minho sighs. “I can’t even pretend to be mean because Hyunjin will just tell you what I actually said.”

“He said something gross about his eyes sparkling and how he thinks his jokes are funny,” Hyunjin says.

“Bet Jisung is just as gross,” Chaewon says as they continue down the road.

Hyunjin shrugs. “Probably. All he told me was that he thought Minho threatening him with his sword was hot.”

Minho puts his head in his hands as Jeongin covers his ears and starts screaming.

“I  _ will _ throw up on you if you say another word.”

“Can you at least wait until after you see your parents?” Eric asks.

“Fine.” Jeongin leans back against the cart before nudging Minho, beckoning him closer.

“I’ve been thinking,” he whispers. “Shouldn’t we have Seungmin come meet our parents? He’s the one who has to talk to Vivi and tell her our plan so…”

Minho is quiet for a moment, processing what Jeongin had said, which only worries the younger one.

“If it’s not a good idea just tell me it’s okay.”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Minho shakes his head and chuckles. “I was just thinking, and it’s a good idea.” Minho pats Jeongin’s head. “Good job.”

They eventually arrived at the castle, where two guards stood at the gates and watched them approach from a distance.

One guard clears his throat. “Identify yourselves!”

Before anyone can speak, Jeongin stands up in the moving cart and waves.

“Hey Sangyeon! Hey Haknyeon!”

The cart stops in front of them just as the two guards drop their weapons in shock.

“Prince Jeongin? You’re okay!”

“Can one of you tell my mother and father that we’re home?” Minho asks, making himself known.

“Of course, Your Majesty!”

Sangyeon and Haknyeon quickly bow and open the gates, with Haknyeon rushing past them and into the castle.

They make it partway down the path towards the barn before stopping.

Minho and Jeongin hop out and turn to Seungmin.

“Can you come with us? Since you’re going to be the one talking to Vivi.”

“Sure,” Seungmin replies, getting out of the cart.

Jeongin then looks to the rest of his friends. “After you’re done doing what you need to do, let’s meet in my room.”

“Good luck guys!” Chaewon cheers.

Once inside the castle, it took a lot longer to reach their parent’s room, mainly due to Jeongin stopping to talk to everyone who greeted him. Eventually, they reach their room, but right as Minho lifts his hand to knock on the door, Jeongin puts a hand on his shoulder.

Minho turns and looks at his brother, and is surprised at what he sees.

He stands tall, back straight, and only now does it fully hit Minho that Jeongin is taller than him. He doesn’t look as nervous as he did in the cart, but instead, he has an air of authority to him that throws Minho off for a second.

At that moment, Jeongin looked so grown up.

“Can I—” Jeongin stops himself. “I want to talk to them alone.”

His rigid posture and strict expression fall as he continues. “Obviously not  _ alone _ alone since Seungmin is going to stand behind me but I mean that I want to do all the talking and—”

Minho interrupts him by putting his hands on his shoulders. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jeongin asks, shocked.

“You’ll talk to them alone and I’ll go see them after. Besides, you’re the best choice.”

Minho smiles as he continues. “As I said before, you got us out of there with your own way of thinking. I kept worrying about the trouble you’d get into being a mischievous little brother, but in reality, it’s your strength, and I think it’s time that mom and dad realize it too.”

“Okay,” Jeongin breathes out. “Okay… I can do this.”

“You can do this.”

Jeongin stands in front of the door and takes a deep breath. He turns to Seungmin.

“Ready?”

“Lead the way, Your Majesty,” Seungmin replies.

Jeongin knocks and slowly enters the room. Minho just barely sees him sprint forward into their parents' arms before the door shuts behind Seungmin.

Now left alone in the hallway, Minho decides to check in on the rest of his family. He heads down the hallway to the other side of the castle and into his room, where his legs are immediately attacked by three small figures.

“Hello, my babies.” Minho sits down and scoops up Soongie, Doongie, and Dori into his lap. “Did you miss me? Did mom and dad take good care of you while I was gone?”

The cats meow back and lick his hand as Minho continues.

“My friends and I got your Uncle Jeongin back, and I’m sure he missed you three a lot. I’ll take you to his room later and you guys can all catch up together. How does that sound?”

The cats respond by attempting to climb up Minho’s chest, almost as if they were giving him a hug.

Just as Minho is about to reach over and grab a cat toy, he hears a knock.

“Come in,” he says, waiting for the door behind him to open. A moment passes but no one enters.

“Wrong entrance!”

The knocking continues after the shout, and Minho then realizes that the noise was coming from his right. He looks up at the window and sees Jisung just barely perched onto the edge of his window sill.

In a panic, Minho quickly puts his cats down and runs to the window. He opens it, grabs Jisung, and pulls him in.

“Are you crazy?” Minho nearly shouts. “If you fall, you won’t come back to life this time.”

“I know what I’m doing, don’t worry,” Jisung says, pinching Minho’s cheek, much to the other’s displeasure. “Also, this was the only way I could come in. You have guards out at the front and I doubt they’d let me in.”

“So you climb in through the window?”

“A cute callback to our first meeting, wouldn’t you say?”

He gives Minho a quick kiss on the cheek before pushing him aside and kneeling in front of his cats, petting them. “Now  _ this _ is what I really came here for.”

Refusing to be outdone, Minho crouches down next to Jisung and swings an arm around his shoulder, whispering to him.

“You know, Hyunjin told me something reeeeeaaally interesting about what you thought about me during our first meeting.”

To Minho’s joy, Jisung freezes and goes bright red.

“I don’t have a witty response so I’m just going to change the topic,” he squeaks out. “Why aren’t you with Jeongin?”

Minho lets Jisung go and sits down next to him. “He wanted to talk to them alone and I let him.”

“Aww, look at you letting him take charge on his own,” Jisung says. “You really are taking Hyunjin and I’s advice.”

Minho bites his lip nervously, remembering the rest of Hyunjin’s advice.

“Yeah. Speaking of following advice…” Minho takes a deep breath. “I like you. A lot.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

Minho picks up a cat toy and throws it at Jisung’s head. “No teasing until I’m done or I’m pushing you out the window.”

“Fine, fine.” Jisung tosses the toy aside to distract the cats before moving to sit across from Minho. “Tell me everything, and don’t hold back.”

Minho sighs and reaches over to clasp Jisung’s hands in his. “I… I really,  _ really _ didn’t think I’d fall this hard in such a short amount of time, especially for a stranger, but you just make me feel so happy and safe and I don’t know where to begin. It takes a while for me to warm up to people but something about you just felt so right so instantly, even when I didn’t trust you or held myself back. You took an arrow for me, poisoned yourself just to give me a flower, and risked keeping your curse just to help me find my brother. I don’t think I can ever repay you back in a single lifetime for any of the things you’ve done for me, but I can swear to you that with this one life I have that I truly do love you more than any immortal life can hold.”

Jisung, slowly coming out of his shock, reaches over and gently holds Minho’s face with one hand, his other still holding Minho’s. He looks at Minho with the softest expression to ever grace his face.

“Oh, Minho, you don’t need to try and redeem having only one life when that’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He pulls his hand away from his face and continues. “I wanted to get rid of my immortality because our one life is so valuable. We get one chance at living, one chance to grow old, one chance to give all our love to someone, and I’m so glad I have someone to give it to. Our lives are so valuable because of the people in it, and you are now one of the most vital parts of my life. I didn’t meet you with the intention of falling in love with you, but I realized I was already in too deep when I feared outliving you. My worst nightmare would be having you become an old memory in my mind centuries from now, but I’m so thankful that I’m living a perfect dream with an end instead.”

Minho was left speechless as he stared at Jisung in astonishment, making the other grow nervous.

“Was that too much? I’m sorry, I—”

“Just kiss me already, Jisung.”

And he does. For once, neither of them are making a grand gesture or trying to surprise the other. Neither of them pull back before the other realizes what is happening. They stay together in each other’s embrace, totally and completely enamoured.

When they do finally break away, they remain in each other’s arms with a smile and giggle and foreheads pressed against each other like they’d cease to function if they went two seconds without touching each other.

And out of all the things Minho could be thinking about, only one thing comes to mind, and it is quite possibly the stupidest and cheesiest thing he could think about after such a romantic moment.

“What are you laughing at?” Jisung asks.

Minho buries his face in Jisung’s neck, embarrassed. “Do you remember the first day we met when you called yourself  an immortal vampire who is going to put me under your spell? I just realized that at the time, two out of three things in that sentence were correct.”

If saying embarrassing things like that meant that he would hear Jisung’s full body laugh and see his face glow as he laughed, then Minho decides that it is definitely worth it.

_ “Oh, wow,” _ Minho thinks to himself, resting his head on Jisung’s shoulder.  _ “I really am happy.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together, they were the sunshine at dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *BLASTS KINGDOM COME BY RED VELVET* LETS GOOOOO

“How much longer do you think they’re going to take?”

Minho’s eyes snap away from the window and back to Jisung, who is sitting across from him in Changbin’s tavern.

Three weeks had gone by since their return home from the Ninth Realm and Jeongin’s talk with their parents, and today was the day that their—no— _ Jeongin’s _ plan, since it was his idea, was finally completed. From tricking Queen Vivi into helping them to actually gaining her respect, Minho was proud, impressed, and a little bit terrified at how great of a job his little brother did.

Once Jeongin explained to their parents that they want to have Vivi use the Vitality Gem to restore the crops in the kingdom, the king and queen, impressed with their youngest child’s initiative, agreed to the plan.

Using Seungmin as their messenger, Jeongin and Vivi came to an agreement on when and where to meet, and just two hours ago, she and Seungmin arrived back at the kingdom together, and Minho was waiting with Jisung for their meeting to be over.

“She has to replenish food for an entire kingdom, so I won’t be surprised if it’s taking a while,” Minho replied. “Though, once that’s out of the way, I can talk with my parents about the housing plans.”

After hearing about the living situation Jisung and the rest of his friends had, Minho proposed a plan to the council to expand on the already limited housing near the village, and it was one of the few times Minho was grateful that no one wanted to say no to a prince.

“Can you make a house with a giant front door for me? The castle one looks cool and I want one like that,” Jisung asks.

Minho raises an eyebrow at him. “How would you know? Every time you come over, it’s through my bedroom window.”

“But I have to walk past the door to get to the tower. It adds to the scenery.”

Minho laughs to himself as he takes another sip of his drink. He pretends to be annoyed every time Jisung decides that his window made for a good front door, but at the end of the day, he’s the one who leaves the window open for him to come in.

Jisung has, unsurprisingly, become a regular appearance in the castle. For the first week, the staff would be surprised to see Minho with someone other than his brother, Hyunjin, Eric, and his guards, but soon enough, they had Jisung’s favourite lunch order memorized and Minho discovered a pile of extra pyjamas folded at the foot of his bed in a size smaller than his.

In all honesty, between Jisung constantly staying over and Jeongin’s  _ other _ idea that he still did not bring up to Jisung, specifically planning Jisung’s home was something that completely slipped his mind.

“You look nervous,” Jisung whispers, reaching over to place his hand on top of Minho’s. “Is it about Jeongin or the houses or…?”

Minho squeezes his hand. “I’ll tell you later. It’s more of a private conversation.”

Jisung, still looking a bit nervous, pulls his hand away. “Alright, you can just tell me tonight.”

Tonight. No need to ask first if he can stay, because this was the norm with them, and Minho only hoped his question wouldn’t ruin what they had. After dealing with a whirlwind of abrupt changes, Jisung was a new and familiar constant in his life that he doesn’t want to lose.

Just as Minho was about to change the topic, the bells at the tavern’s entrance ring, and the two look over to see who enters, only for their eyes to land on two familiar faces.

“Please don’t see us, please don’t see us,” Minho whispers.

“Well look who it is,” Seungmin says, grinning at Minho’s annoyed face.

“Fuck.”

Seungmin drags an unwilling Jeongin over to Minho and Jisung’s table, and Jisung, completely unaware of the overall mood, happily grabs two chairs for them to sit in.

“Why are you here?” Minho asks.

“No hello? No how are you? No questions about how everything went?” Seungmin asks back. “One would think that would be your priority.”

“I can find out how it went from the guy in charge in our meeting later today,” Minho replies. He looks to Jeongin. “Would you like to tell me now or later?”

Jeongin’s face immediately changes as a smile appears on his face.

“It worked,” he says, sounding like he couldn’t even believe himself. “Everything went perfectly. Mom and Dad were great with Vivi, nothing went wrong with the gem, we have  _ so _ much food growing now, and Vivi’s gone so we don’t have to worry about her suddenly hating me and wanting revenge.”

“I mean, she can do it later,” Jisung points out.

“You can still do so much better,” Jeongin whispers to his brother.

Minho kicks Jeongin under the table. “So, why are you here and not getting ready for the meeting?”

“Seungmin wanted to grab a drink and stop by Chan’s before heading to the castle and I decided to tag along.” Jeongin scrunches his face in disgust. “Didn’t know we’d be interrupting a date.”

Minho looks back at Seungmin, who was now drinking from Jisung’s cup.

“We should probably head back then, right?” Jisung asks, unphased by Seungmin. “I’ll go hang out with Hyunjin and Eric while you guys do your fancy royal stuff.”

“Are you still coming with me?” Seungmin asks Jeongin. “I’m going to Chan’s since Felix and Chaewon are there right now and I need to drop something off.”

“Of course. Anything to get away from the gross couple,” Jeongin replies, sticking his tongue out at Minho.

Minho just quietly laughs as he rolls his eyes. If this relationship has provided anything for Jeongin, it was giving him another thing for him to make fun of his older brother with.

“You know, by going with Seungmin, you will be seeing him with Felix, right?” Jisung mentions.

“The thing is, I like Felix.”

Jisung is silent for a moment. “Was that an insult towards your brother or me?”

“I’ll let the thought haunt you.”

Minho leaves the money on the table while Jisung is lost in thought, and soon enough, the four of them are out of the Crescent Moon.

Across the tavern, Minho spots the jewelry shop. Normally, he wouldn’t pay it any special attention, but once he sees the shop owner waving at him through the window and beckoning him inside, he remembers what he did.

“Actually,” Minho suddenly says, “I need to talk to Chan about… weapons? How about I go with Seungmin?”

Jeongin gives him an odd look but doesn’t question the obvious lie, and neither does Seungmin and Jisung.

“Alright.” Jeongin gives a nod to Jisung. “I’ll walk back with you instead.”

“Oh?” Jisung looks surprised at what Jeongin said. “Okay. I’ll see you two later.”

Once Jisung and Jeongin are out of earshot, Minho turns to Seungmin.

“I have nothing to say to Chan. It was a lie.”

Seungmin gives him a tired look. “Yeah, no kidding. You’re lucky Jisung and Jeongin don’t question your weirdness.”

“I just need to go pick up a gift for Jisung. Once you’re done, meet me back here.”

“It’s better if you go to Chan’s shop. I have a letter from Yena and Yuri to give to the twins and they’re going to write back, so it’s going to take a while. It’s better to meet with us than to wait out here for who knows how long.”

Minho nods, remembering the new arrangement between Seungmin, the sisters, and the twins. Whenever he would visit the Ninth Realm or the kingdom, he would make sure to deliver a letter to the pair of siblings.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

The two split up and Minho enters the jewelry shop where he is immediately greeted with the owner’s excited expression.

“Your Majesty, the necklaces are ready,” Minjoo says with a grin. She crouches down behind the counter and begins to shuffle through different boxes, looking for Minho’s. He hears a few items fall and a silent curse but pays it no mind.

Minho wondered what had her so excited. Was she like this with Hyunjin and Jeongin too when they got their rings, or did she specifically get excited about custom jewelry? He probably should have asked Hyunjin more questions about her when he asked him where he got his ring a week ago.

“Across Changbin’s tavern is a jewelry shop,” Hyunjin had explained. “There are some premade items on display and Jeongin and I just grabbed those, but the owner, Kim Minjoo, takes requests if you’re looking for something specific. She’s a sweet girl.”

“Here it is!” Minjoo says. She walks up to Minho and hands him the box. “Two custom necklaces courtesy of Swan Jewelry.”

Minho opens the box, a slow smile spreading across his face. His request was a simple one, but that didn’t stop him from staring at the necklaces in awe.

“Thank you so much, Minjoo. They’re beautiful, not to mention that you finished them so quickly.”

Minjoo waves a hand. “It’s been a slow week and it was a simple design. Besides even if I was busy, how can I let a prince wait? Especially after you told me why you wanted them and what it meant.”

Minho blushes, remembering how he poured his heart out to this complete stranger when she simply asked if there was any meaning behind the design.

“Is that why you seem so excited?”

“How can I not be? What you’re doing is really sweet, and it’s an honour that you came to me for help.” She then gives him an impish grin. “I hope you come back to me again in a few years for a pair of rings.”

Minho’s face gets even redder. “Let’s slow down a bit! Let me at least give him the necklaces first.”

He hears Minjoo burst out laughing as he reaches into his pocket, giving her her payment along with a hefty tip.

“Good luck, Your Majesty,” Minjoo says as he leaves.

“Thank you, Minjoo,” Minho replies, waving at her as he walks backwards out the door, holding the box close to his chest.

“I give it to him, I ask him, and I pray he says yes,” Minho mutters to himself, heading towards Chan’s shop. “Simple and easy.”

* * *

It was definitely a simple task, but according to Minho’s nerves, it was not easy.

The meeting was over and now he was pacing back and forth on the balcony of one of the watchtowers, waiting for Jisung to arrive.

He took a deep breath, remembering what Jeongin had told him after the meeting.

“If he says no, it doesn’t mean he suddenly hates you,” Jeongin had said. “Worst case scenario, I find someone else and it’ll be weird next time you want to ask him the other question. This isn’t going to end in a breakup.”

He was right, but it wasn’t enough to completely squash the paranoia he felt about things ending badly. Would he think he was weird? Would he get freaked out?

“Your Majesty, you once again look like shit.”

Minho turns around and hides the box behind him, smiling when he sees Jisung standing at the door. He walks onto the balcony, stopping right in front of him.

“How can I help?”

“There’s really nothing you can do but listen,” Minho says. “It’s about what I wanted to ask you earlier.”

“Okay.” Jisung takes a step back, giving Minho a reassuring smile. “Lay it on me.”

“Alright.” Minho takes a deep breath. “You know how I’ve had Felix and Chaewon by my side for half my life?”

“Yes.”

“And that because of our close bond, I trust them enough to be my personal guards?”

Jisung nods along. “Yeah, you guys clicked when you were kids, right?”

“Yes, yes, and I really do love them—”

“You’re not breaking up with me and leaving me for one of them, right?” Jisung suddenly interrupts. “Seungmin’s not going to be happy if it’s Felix.”

“W—What?” Minho sputters. “No, of course not, Jisung! I’m asking you if you want to be Jeongin’s personal guard.”

Minho shuts his mouth, realizing what he said. He was supposed to lead Jisung into the idea slowly, but instead, he just blurted it out.

It was one of the effects Jisung had on him that he wasn’t the biggest fan of. His mind goes blank and he acts on impulse, saying or doing anything without thinking.

Jisung looks at him, shocked, and Minho is preparing himself for rejection until Jisung says something unexpected.

“Doesn’t Jeongin hate me?”

Minho’s jaw drops. “What?”

Jisung shrugs, looking down at the ground, and Minho realizes that he looks a bit upset. “He’s always talking about how you can do better and poking fun at our relationship, so I assumed he doesn’t really approve of me. You said you and the twins have a close bond and that’s why they’re with you, but I don’t think Jeongin will take our bond as a reason for me to work for him.”

Minho was floored. “It was his idea,” he says. “He’s the one who asked me to ask you.”

Jisung looked confused. “To keep an eye on me…?”

“He doesn’t hate you at all,” Minho explains. “He’ll never admit it, but he’s actually pretty fond of you. Our parents told him that he had to get a guard so he doesn’t sneak off like that again, and he knows how much I trust you, so he figured that he could trust you too.”

Minho softly smiles. “He jokes around and is protective of me, but he really,  _ really _ likes you. If he didn’t, he would tell me directly. If he didn’t want you as his guard, he would probably steal Felix from me or something instead of asking for you.”

Jisung, still completely bewildered, slowly nods. “So he doesn’t hate me?”

“Never did.”

Jisung sighs in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. Yes, by the way. Of course, I’ll be his guard. I’ll make sure he doesn’t run away to a magic world again.”

“The bar is on the ground. Don’t trip over it.”

“Is this what you were so nervous about?”

In an instant, all of Minho’s fears came back, and the temporary relief of Jisung agreeing to Jeongin’s request quickly vanished.

“No, not that,” Minho begins. He steps forward and hands Jisung the box with the necklaces. “So, I haven’t begun planning your house at all.”

Jisung takes the box, confused. “That’s fine. There’s a lot of work you have to do.”

“I wasn’t planning on planning your house,” Minho continues. “I was actually wondering, since you spend all your time here already, what if you just move into the castle?”

Upon seeing Jisung’s wide eyes, Minho starts rambling.

“Okay, well, I was going to ask even if you said no to Jeongin’s request but since you said yes it’s a nice coincidence and it’s convenient for you to be here and I know it’s not really normal for personal guards to stay in the castle and the twins are an exception since they literally can’t go home but—”

“Minho.” Jisung puts his hand on Minho’s shoulder and squeezes, calming Minho down instantly. “You don’t have to jump through hoops to think of a reason for me to stay here. Just ask me what  _ you _ want.”

“I…” Minho takes a deep breath. “I’d like you to stay in the castle.”

Jisung cups his face and gives him a quick kiss. “I would like that too.”

Relief washes over Minho as Jisung lets him go and looks at the box.

“It’s a gift,” is all Minho says.

Jisung opens the box, softly gasping once he sees what’s inside. He reaches in and pulls out one of the necklaces, giving the box with the other necklaces back to Minho, his eyes never leaving the one in his hand.

They were very simple necklaces. A gold chain with a custom made charm of the sun hanging off of it. Etched onto the back of the charm were four simple letters.

_ HJ + LM _

“This is so cheesy but I love it so much,” Jisung whispers, putting the necklace on. He watches Minho put his own on as he avoids Jisung’s eye, blushing like crazy. He pulls Minho in for a hug before stepping back, gently holding onto his hands. “Why the sun?”

And so, Minho explains to Jisung what the charm, and by extension, their relationship, meant to him.

The necklace felt like a comforting weight against his chest. He looked towards the sky and saw the sun setting across the horizon. How fitting that a new chapter in their lives would start as the day came to an end.

Like the sunrise, Jisung was a new day and a new beginning to him.

Together, they were the sunshine at dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh and thats the end!!! thank you so much for reading i really hope you all liked it. this is my first multichaptered fic i ever finished with is a feat for me
> 
> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


End file.
